“This is pretty awesome,” said Kennard, who surpassed Geno Ford (Cambridge (1989-93) on the career scoring list with a couple of free throws as the third quarter wound down.
“We know a lot of those guys. We’re good friends with them all. There’s no hate on the court or trash-talking. I’ve been a part of this rivalry since my freshman year. I know there’s a lot of meaning to it and so do all of the guys.”
It also means Franklin (19-1) looks better than ever as the all-important postseason looms. If any Southwestern Buckeye League team could give Franklin a challenge, it figured to be Carlisle (17-3). The Indians never had a chance after a pumped-up start.
“We knew we were up against a big-time challenge,” Carlisle coach Jeff Waugh said after the Indians had a six-game win streak snapped. “We wanted to be patient and spread them. We knew Monroe played them tough a couple weeks ago and we wanted to follow that model. We were on that path early.”
The game was decided by halftime. Entering, Kennard needed 29 points to surpass Ford. He hit a half-dozen threes and 6 of 7 free throws before shutting down early in the fourth quarter.
Kennard now has 2,690 career points. Next is No. 2 Jay Burson (2,958). Jon Diebler is No. 1 with 3,208.
“I’m looking forward to the postseason and seeing how that ends up for us,” Kennard said. “The success we’ve had so far, playing these big-time teams, we can be really successful and have a great run in the postseason.”
It wasn’t just a Kennard show Tuesday. Evan Crowe bottomed four 3’s and had 23 points and Austin Doliboa added 14 points. Michael Morris led Carlisle with 13 points and Jairus Milton added 11.
Carlisle seemed ripe to pull an upset. Franklin, often playing in similar big-game conditions, just said no.
“They’ve never been on this stage and I told our guys we’re used to this stage,” Franklin coach Brian Bales said. “Luke and Evan were on. When we share the ball like that and play defense like that we’re going to be tough to beat.”
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