Casady: Matt Silver, Cyclones play inspired for injured teammate...

By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com

Horrible news to start the day, great news to end it for the Casady boys basketball team. In front of a standing-room-only crowd at Grantham-Griffing Fieldhouse, Cyclones got out fast and never looked back.

Guard Matt Silver connected on three three-pointers in the first quarter as the Cyclones took care of rival Heritage Hall 48-33 on Tuesday night.

I thought Casady would win in a tight one. However, once I found out Preston Sullivan tore his ACL, I flip-flopped to the Chargers.

But boy did the Cyclones come out fired up and inspired to play for their fallen leader. It started with Silver, who made the gesture to wear the No. 12 jersey the rest of the season. Sullivan had worn it and this was Silver’s way to honor his friend and teammate.

Just as important was the dunk by Graham Bennett. All it did was make it 5-0 at the time, but the building went nuts on the dunk and really never let up until Casady had the game in control.

Back-to-back big games by Bennett as he is starting to put it together more in basketball. We all know he’s a great football player, but he’s learning how to use his size on the court.

I won’t say Heritage would have won, but Quintaz Struble picking up two fouls in the first four minutes of the game was HUGE. He sat the rest of the first half and it was 29-13 at halftime. Struble actually finished with a game-high 13 points, but the Chargers never made a serious run.

Casey Roberts had 10 points for Casady, while Bennett led the way with 13. Look for a video with a bloodied Silver (he’s OK) on NewsOK on Wednesday.