Strong start provides optimism for Cambridge boys

CAMBRIDGE − Looking to rebound from a rough 4-19 season a year ago, the Cambridge High Bobcats opened the new season last Tuesday with a spirited effort against visiting West Muskingum inside Gene Ford gymnasium.

Despite ultimately coming up short, 65-62 in a triple overtime battle, the Bobcats gave their fans plenty of optimism of what to expect this new season.

Cambridge followed up with another solid effort in a second straight loss with a tight 56-50 setback to West Holmes to slip to 0-2 on the young season.

The pair of strong efforts to start the year gives CHS head coach Kyle Pertuset, who enters his third year guiding the Cambridge boys program, a sign that things are different this year.

"If you paid for a ticket in the opener, you got your money's worth. Our kids just did a great job of battling through some adverse situations," Pertuset said. "They really kept their heads during those rough spots, and last year I don't think we do that. So that's a great sign that we are mentally stronger as a team this season.

"The way they handled themselves set a example for a lot of people," Pertuset added. "Including myself, when I get bent out of shape some times. They did a great job of persevering and battling. We just kept our heads and continued to work. That's just a very encouraging performance, and we can now build on that moving forward."

Pertuset offered that last season, the Bobcats dropped several games down the stretch due to failing to execute in critical late game situations.

"We lost so many games last year by losing our composure late in the game," Pertuset noted. "Hopefully if we can respond like we did against West M, we can flip those games into the win column. Last year we lost 6 to 8 close games by a possession or two.

"It's a good sign the other night the way we responded," he added. "We didn't lose due to our failing to execute in late game situations. It was more of just not getting the ball to bounce in our direction, just the way basketball goes. We gave ourselves a real chance to win, and hopefully we can continue to respond that way this season."

Junior lead guard Jesiah Barnett (5-10), who is the leading returning scorer from last year at 11.3 points per game, led the Bobcats with 19 points in the opener.

Another positive sign for the Bobcats, as the talented Barnett will be counted on to provide that scoring punch for CHS this season.

"I'm really excited for what Jesiah brings to the table for us," Pertuset said. "He and I have a really good relationship, back when I moved into town he lived across the street from me. I remember lying in bed one night around 10-11 o'clock hearing a basketball bouncing outside. Looked outside and saw this young kid out shooting, and thought to myself hope that kid is on my team.

"And of course turned out he was one of a talented group of eighth graders I had heard we had. Now he's a junior, and has totally transformed his body by dedicating himself in the weight room," he added. "He's really a talented kid, what I would call a volume scorer. He shot over 32.3% from 3-point line last year. Anytime you are over 30% you're at a pretty good clip so I'm looking for Jesiah to have a really big year."

Cambridge returns five lettermen as Barnett joins seniors Devin Ogle (6-2), Regan Rogers (6-0) and Bradyn Gregg (6-3) and sophomore Garrett Carpenter (5-11).

Peruset was excited to have a pair of deadly shooting threats returning with Barnett teaming with Carpenter to form a formidable duo.

Unfortunately, those plans have been changed due to Carpenter being sidelined for the season with a football injury. Carpenter was in the midst of an impressive season at quarterback for the Bobcats' football team when he went down late in the year with the injury.

Carpenter turned in a solid season last year as a freshman, finishing with a 7.8 scoring average and led the Bobcats from beyond the 3-point arc at a sizzling 38%.

"It's very unfortunate for the team to lose Garrett, but more importantly for him," Pertuset said. "Garrett is a throwback kid, hard-nosed, coachable and does things the right way. He could have grown up in the 90s and not been one bit out of place with the way he approaches things.

"We will miss Garrett's mental and physical toughness, his basketball IQ and scoring ability," Pertuset said. "Knowing Garrett, I'm confident he will bounce back even better in multiple sports."

More: West Muskingum boys basketball survives opening night 3 OT marathon with Cambridge

Ogle and Bradyn Gregg will be counted on to provide some post scoring, along with a strong inside presence for the Bobcats. Rogers, who has battled injuries the past few seasons, is healthy and Pertuset feels he provides solid on the ball defense and can help out scoring as well.

Ogle just missed double figure scoring a year ago, finishing at 9.5 points along with 3.6 rebounds.

"Devin will be our anchor inside the paint," Pertuset said. "He brings a lot of athleticism and just God-given athletic talent to the floor. He's just an athletic freak, he can jump out of the gym, he can run and just has that extra gear.

"When Devin wants the ball off the glass, he can really go get it. Has a relentless quality about him," Pertuset added. "Devin is a very capable scorer as well, he averaged around 10 points a game last year. In fact, when we played Bellaire here he had a big night with 32 points. So he's very capable of scoring and we will need him to provide some."

Rogers saw action in 12 games after coming back off an injury and finished with a 4.2 scoring average, while Bradyn Gregg was at 3.7 points and 1.9 boards.

Another player who will contribute inside the post this season will be sophomore Rylan Mathews (6-1), who saw action in eight games as a freshman last year.

"Ryan had a big summer this year, really worked hard," Pertuset said. "He spent a lot of time in the gym and the weight room. Just put in the work necessary, and will have a much larger role for us this year. We will count on him to help carry the load with Devin inside the paint for us."

Rounding out the Bobcats' varsity roster are juniors DionTe' Jones (6-1) and Isaiah Mayle (6-1), sophomores Cam'ryn Jeffery (5-11) and Mason Gregg (5-10) and freshmen Camdyn Lauer (5-7), Tre'Vaughn Alexander (5-11) and Breyor Ford (5-11).

A newcomer to Cambridge program is junior Rylee Homko-Green (6-1), who transferred in from Buckeye Trail and Pertuset will contribute this season.

Peruset's coaching staff this season includes varsity assistant Mike Birkhimer, JV coach Sean Byerly and freshman coach Jacob Tharp.

"We have several other kids in the mix for playing time," Pertuset said. "We are still trying to figure things out rotation wise. So we have numerous kids who could step up and contribute for us. And that would be a real plus for us if that happens.

"We are going to be a pretty fun team to watch this year," Pertuset offered. "We plan to push the pace, use multiple presses and get up and down the floor. A lot of free-flowing motion offense, get the ball moving and shoot a lot of 3-pointers."

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This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Optimism surrounds Cambridge boys after solid early season performance