High school basketball result: John Paul II vs. Calhoun Academy

In their first game after a Christmas break, the John Paul II Golden Warriors improved to 10-1 with a sluggish 65-53 road victory at Calhoun Academy in St. Mathews.

“The layoff had more of an effect on us than I had hoped,” John Paul II coach Stacy Benedik said. “I thought we would respond with energy and enthusiasm even if we were a bit rusty, but we just didn't play very hard on the defensive end. We have to get better in a hurry.

“Conference play starts in earnest next week and we have to improve by leaps and bounds if we want to be able to compete in a very tough region.”

Rashad Battiste was the leading scorer for the Golden Warriors with 22 points. Lindsay Franklin had 12, Karl Johnson 9 and Thomas Kender 7.

This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 11:29 PM with the headline "High school basketball result: John Paul II vs. Calhoun Academy."