Despite Bowling Green’s effort, the Mexico boys weren’t allowing the Bobcats to make up ground on Thursday.

Mexico vs Bowling Green Photo Gallery

The Bulldogs had a quick start in their second straight game on Gary Filbert Court with a 37-21 halftime lead and maintained a 20-point lead until they defeated Bowling Green 70-51. Mexico was backed by four double-digit scorers, including a team-high 19 points by Kaden Benne.

Head coach Darren Pappas said it’s anybody’s best guess who will lead the Bulldogs (13-2) in scoring any given night since balance is a strength of the roster. Benne torched the Bobcats (4-8) early with 12 points in the first quarter and finished the game with five rebounds, three steals and three 3-pointers.

"That's what I like about this roster is anybody can score on any given night," Pappas said. "If someone is having an off night, then somebody else can step up and fill the void."

Benne knocked down a couple of 3-pointers in the first quarter and had some buckets in the second half when Bowling Green had a better second half of 30 points. 

“My shot was falling early on, I was able to find my teammates and my teammates were able to find me,” Benne said. “Everything was just clicking to start out the game, and it felt great.”

Pappas said Benne scoring those early points was big for the team and helped fill the void left temporarily by senior point guard DJ Long after tweaking his ankle. His ankle didn’t seem to be bothering him as Long still finished with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Because Mexico had another game the next night at Centralia, Pappas said Mexico has to be cautious and evaluate Long’s ankle but was pleased to see the production of the team when he returned. The Bulldogs still hit Pappas’ target of four double-digit scorers, including Jaydon Eldridge with 13 points and five rebounds and PJ Perkins with 10 points and seven rebounds, and saw Long make the typical slick interior passes to set teammates up easy layups.

“It was a little bit of a scare there,” Pappas said. “But I think he’s OK. That’s just reading the defense. You’ve got to be able to move the basketball, find where the defense helps and find if the open man on the backside is wide open. We did that at times tonight.”

“It was definitely helpful to have him come back,” Benne said. “He’s a great ball handler, and he really helps dish it out to everybody.”

Mexico has seen its fair share of tough competition this season and expects much more as it holds on to the ninth spot in the Class 4 state rankings. Considering that, Pappas said the Bulldogs have to be better than they were in some areas against Bowling Green.

Pappas said he saw Mexico thrive in transition like he wants to do any given night but would like to see stronger offense in all situations.

“We did get out in transition,” Pappas said. “That is our bread-and-butter, but we’ve got to be able to execute in the half-court too. The ball stuck to our hands, and we didn’t get that 1-2-2 zone to shift as much as we'd like to.”

Bowling Green displayed the size it has while putting up a better fight for rebounds than the guard-heavy Fulton did in Tuesday night’s home game. Mexico did have the speed advantage as Benne, Long and several other players sped past the Bobcats.

“We have some great athletes on the team,” Benne said. “We can all shoot the ball, and overall, we’re all great players.”

Jace Eskew was the forefront of Bowling Green’s second-half effort when he knocked down four 3-pointers in the third quarter. Eskew led the floor with 26 points and seven 3-pointers and gave Pappas another talking point for his team.

“The big thing is we weren’t quick on our rotations in the second and third line,” Pappas said. “We have to be quick in our rotations and close out on shooters. Those are things where you have to stick to the scouting report. In the half court, you got to have to have all five guys defending at all times.”

Mexico plays another on Gary Filbert Court when it hosts Warrenton (6-5) at 7:45 p.m. Friday.