Columbus East High School

The Columbus East freshman boys basketball team wasted no time shaking off a week-long layoff, turning in one of its most complete performances of the season in a convincing 54–33 road victory over the East Central Trojans on Friday night. The young Olympians set the tone early, jumping out to a 13–7 lead after the first quarter before clamping down defensively and stretching the margin to 31–14 by halftime. Frank Phillips led the early charge with eight points in the first half, while Luke Lienhoop filled the stat sheet with five points, three assists, and three steals. Columbus East continued to apply pressure after the break, pushing the lead to as many as 27 points in the third quarter and closing the period ahead 45–20. From there, it was smooth sailing as the Olympians emptied the bench, played all 14 players, and saw 12 different athletes score. Phillips finished with a game-high 14 points to pace the Olympians. Gavin Wilcox added seven, followed by Dane Hoopingarner and Eric Kiel with six apiece. Lienhoop chipped in five, Parker Jones had four, Jakobi Noble scored three, and Jayden Wilcox, Tucker Day, Owen Hatfield, and Matt Muir each added two. Cooper Koons rounded out the scoring with one point. With the win, Columbus East improves to 7–5 on the season. The Olympians are right back at it on Saturday(1/31), returning home to host Bloomington North with tipoff set for 6 p.m.