For the second time in a little over three weeks, the Morris Redskins defeated the Coal City Coalers in boys’ basketball. After snatching a 56-45 win over the Coalers on Nov. 26 at the Coal City Tournament, the Redskins defeated the visiting Coalers on Tuesday night by a score of 65-58.

Morris got off to a quick start, pushing the tempo and emptying their bench while jumping out to a 17-10 lead over Coal City at the end of the first quarter. Senior forward Ben Ortiz dropped five of his 21 points in the opening stanchion to lead the Redskins as they ran Coal City out of the gym early.

“We knew we wanted to push the ball and run up and down,” Ortiz said. “We thought we were the more fundamental team and we wanted to take advantage of that. Coach (Blumberg) told us in the locker room that’s what we needed to do and it worked out for us.”