If there is such a thing as a moral victory, the Lewis Cass Kings could claim one in their boys basketball season opener Wednesday night at North Miami. Although the Kings fell to the Warriors 65-59, they gave the home team all they could handle despite having to play short-handed.

Having lost senior point guard Damon Foreman to shoulder surgery before the season began, Cass also found itself without starters Brody Edgerly and Jake Rouch, both suffering from lingering football injuries. Edgerly is expected to be a strong scorer for the Kings this year while Rouch, at 6-foot-7, will provide needed size and rebounding inside. Add to those losses shortened practice time for the squad because of the Cass football team’s playoff run, and coach Matt Carver had no idea what to expect from his young team before the game.

The result, coming against a Warrior squad that posted a 14-4 record a year ago and blew out the Kings 71-36 in last year’s sectional, was not a victory but pleased Carver mightily nevertheless.

“Words cannot describe how proud I am of my guys right now,” the Cass mentor said after the game. “[We had a] limited time to get ready, limited guys in action. Our seniors really stepped up and did a great job of getting us in position to win the game. Our youth showed at the end of the first half in the last two and a half minutes. We had some key guys in foul trouble, and we had to play some guys who had never been in a situation like that. We’re going to grow from this.

“Am I disappointed we lost? I probably sound like we just won our first sectional game,” he continued. “Obviously, I am disappointed we lost. We had some opportunities to win the game, but I can’t be more proud and enthusiastic about this team and this program.”

Indeed, the Kings played the Warriors toe-to-toe for most of the game, but a lapse late in the first half probably spelled the difference in the outcome. After trailing just 17-16 after a quarter and 29-25 with 3:31 left in the half, North Miami went on a 12-2 run to open a 41-27 margin at halftime, the Warriors’ biggest of the contest.

Warrior center Greg Miller did most of the damage in the first half, posting 19 of his game-high 31 points as the Kings couldn’t matchup with him in their man-to-man defense. Cass shifted to a 2-3 zone in the second half and managed to quiet the 6-5 senior somewhat.

Meanwhile, the Kings began to chip away at the lead. Andrew Troutman, who drew high praise from his coach for his outstanding leadership and steady play, nailed a triple to start the second half. Evan Depew also got it going for Cass, hitting his first four shots of the second half as the Kings drew to within 59-48 after three quarters.

The Kings kept battling, finally chipping the margin to 61-57 with just 1:24 to play when Keegan Key hit one of two from the line. But Cass missed a couple of layup opportunities inside and Miller hit three of four foul shots down the stretch to keep the Kings at bay.

Troutman finished with 20 points and seven assists to pace Cass, while Depew logged a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Depew also had five steals.

— Mike Blatt

Peru 64, Southwood 53

Class 3A No. 6-ranked Peru opened its season with an 11-point win over Class 2A No. 7 Southwood, using balanced scoring to get the road victory as four players scored in double figures.

Terry Smith led Peru with 16 points, followed by Justin Engel and Wes Zimmerman each scoring 15, and Luke Primerano adding 13.

“Our guys played well,” Peru coach Eric Thompson said. “Our guys want to win, and they don’t care who scores.”

Peru was without the services of Taylor Smith, who is out with an injury, but the Tigers had plenty of options to turn to.

“Danny Comerford, Travis Smith and Luke Primerano all stepped up in taking his place,” Thompson added.

Peru plays at Logansport Saturday.

Delphi 59, Carroll 57

Down 43-34 after three quarters, Delphi roared back in the fourth quarter to beat Carroll 59-57 and take Carroll County bragging rights.

Carroll outscored Delphi 18-8 in the opening quarter and the teams played on almost even terms in the middle two quarters.

Austin Hawn scored a game-high 21 points for the Oracles. Kris Bender and Matt Brown chipped in 10 points apiece.

Kyle Geheb scored a team-high 16 points for the Cougars. Noah Allen had 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Riley Johnson had 10 points.

Girls basketball

Carroll 42, Delphi 22

Jessica Yoder scored 15 points to help the Cougars claim Carroll County bragging rights.

Also for Carroll, Abby Reinke had 13 points and Quinci Eller had 12 points.

Whitney Arion led Delphi with seven points.