The season for boys’ basketball kicked off Monday with a win over Parkway South 62-54, in the Gerald Linneman Memorial Tip-off.

The Colts took a six point lead into halftime by a score of 29-23, but struggled to play good defense on South’s three-point shooters who helped them go on run and take the lead midway through the third quarter. But the Colts managed to stave off the run, taking a one point lead into the fourth.

From the fourth on, the Colts won the foul battle and hit their free throws to finish the job against their rivals. They were led by junior Nathan Biggs who scored 24 points and helped hold South’s big man to only six points. Jarrett Cox-Bradley in his first game of major minutes chipped in 21 points and was seven of eight from the free throw line.

“I’m just glad we got the win,” Cox-Bradley said.

The Colts played a gritty game on both ends of the floor, getting fouls for hard screens on offense and taking charges on defense.

“It was cool how we won,” Kraus said. We worked hard and dove for every loose ball,” Kraus said.

During the off-season Central Coach Rick Kirby stressed defense and conditioned his players for the first game. It proved to make the difference against a young South who lost essentially all of their starters from the previous season. The Colts also had a few new faces on the starting roster including sophomore Jarrett Cox-Bradley and junior Connor Kraus.

“The game went well, we played hard and out-worked them and were able to do what we prepared in practice,” Kraus said.

The Colts play Parkway West on Wednesday at 7:00 in the main gym.