Columbus East High School

The Columbus East boys basketball team made their long-awaited home debut in the Orange Pit on Saturday night, and after a sluggish opening eight minutes, the Olympians settled in and took command with the kind of high-pressure, man-to-man defense that has become their signature. East lead 18–17 after the first quarter, but once the O’s cranked up the defensive intensity in the second, everything changed. Turnovers turned into fast-break runouts, open threes started falling, and the tempo shifted entirely in East’s favor. By halftime, the Olympians had blown the game open, taking a 42–29 lead into the locker room. The second half brought more of the same. East’s defense locked up Southwestern Hanover with a dominant third quarter, stretching the margin to 60–38 and removing any doubt about the outcome. The Olympians closed the night with a convincing 72–55 win—an encouraging early-season performance in their first home appearance. Carter Patterson paced the O’s with a sharp 20-point effort, attacking the rim and finishing plays in transition. Graham Preizer followed closely with 17 points, drilling five threes and helping fuel the second-quarter surge. Despite drawing double-teams most of the night, Keaton Lawson powered his way to 15 points. Judah Lewis added 9 points, including a pair of early triples that steadied East’s offense, while Tony Cowan chipped in 5, Ben Ellegood added 4, and Josiah Kiel rounded out the scoring with 2. With the win, the Olympians move forward into a key week. East travels to Bedford North Lawrence on Friday, December 12, for an important Hoosier Hills Conference matchup before returning home on Saturday, December 13, to face Sectional foe Franklin Community in another early-season test.