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The Cheney Cardinals, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, stayed perfect this season with a 59-37 win over the visiting Garden Plain Owls boys basketball team last Friday.

Cheney’s defense has been good this season. The Cardinals gave up just 62 points in two decisive wins last week. The Cardinals are now 5-0, with four of their five wins coming by 21 or more points. Cheney has taken advantage of a favorable early schedule, playing four of five games in December at home.

The Owls, playing for the first time in eight days, dropped to under .500 this season with a 2-3 record. Garden Plain has faced the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked teams in consecutive games, after facing Hesston on Dec. 12.

“I liked our defensive intensity. We took four or five charges We’ve got three or four kids who are willing to do that,” said Cheney head coach Linndey Frieden.

Carter Peintner took three of those. Frieden said the game was closer than the final score indicated.

“This is one of the better Garden Plain teams. It was a good win for us,” he said. “I thought we played with a lot of energy at home against a rival.”

Garden Plain head coach Mark Powell liked the Owls’ balance in scoring – seven different players had points – but they did not have a breakout scorer. Kaeden Kasselman led the team with 9 points. The Owls scored just 16 after halftime.

“Their ball pressure kind of got to us. We need to handle that better and hit more shots,” he said.

The Owls were not at full strength. Starting point guard Cooper Scheer was out, and Seth Dugan was making his season debut after needing to time to heal from football season.

They have gotten better on offense. Cooper Eck is shooting 45 percent on field goals, and 47 percent from 3-point range.

Turnovers made a difference, with the Owls committing 20 compared to 11 for the Cardinals. That led to a 23-11 Cheney advantage in points off turnovers. Cheney also held an edge in points in the paint.

Three Cardinals scored in doubled figures. Carter Peintner had a game-high 15. Josh Burdick and Quaid Thomas contributed 14 each.

Garden Plain and Cheney could play as many as three more times this season. They have one more regular-season game, and both will go to the Adolph Rupp Invitational next month. They also are in the same substate bracket.

“We know what the bar is (for success),” Powell said.

Garden Plain takes the court again on Jan. 3, when the Andale Indians visit as the Renwick cousins play each other. Cheney also plays on Jan. 3 with a road game at Nickerson.

Cheney: Carter Peintner 15, Josh Burdick 14, Quaid Thomas 14, Logan Wallace 6, Jase Robertson 5, Deitric McDaniel 2, Alex Lynch 2. Garden Plain: Kaeden Kasselman 9, Seth Dugan 6, Eli Eck 5, Cooper Eck 5, Brady Brack 5, Brant Long 2, Braylen Dold 3.

After winning three games and claiming the Cardinals Classic championship the prior week, Cheney started last week with a 59-25 win against the visiting Trinity Academy Knights.

The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead, going up 19-7 after one quarter. The Cardinals scored 12 or more points in each quarter. On defense, they limited the Knights to no more than 8 points in any quarter.

At halftime, the Cardinals led 32-13. They closed the game strong, outscoring the Knights 15-4 in the fourth quarter.

Frieden thought the Cardinals came out a little flat, but still allowed just 25 points. They held the Knights to just six free throws and one 3-pointer, and limited Trinity’s top player to 1 point.

He credited the entire defense for that effort, but said that Jase Robertson continues to take on opponents’ top threats.

Quaid Thomas had a career-high 18 points, and then scored 14 against Garden Plain. Frieden said he had a good week offensively and defensively. He added that the Cardinals’ post players – Thomas, Logan Wallace, and Carter Peintner – did well defensively, “Q and Logan grew up a lot last week,” he said.

The Cardinals shot twice as well as the Knights, making 56 percent of their shots while holding Trinity to 27 percent. The Cardinals were 6-for-12 from 3-point range, while the Knights were 1-for-10 from long distance. Cheney held a 27-17 rebounding advantage and were dominant in the lane. Quaid Thomas was the top scorer with 16.

Cheney: Quaid Thomas 16, Josh Burdick 12, Carter Peintner 10, Logan Wallace 6, Cameron Eastman 5, Ayden Koehn 4, Reece Tolar 3, Jase Robertson 2, Deitric McDaniel 1.