George Rogers Clark’s boys basketball team picked up their second win in as many games Friday night when they knocked off defending 10th Region champions Campbell County 63-48.

The win also gave Cardinals’ coach Josh Cook his first win over the Camels in his tenure at GRC, but Cook wasn’t as worried about who they beat as he was how his team played.

“I’m really just proud of our guys,” Cook said. “They played hard defensively, our bench stepped up, I’m just tickled to death at the overall team effort. We didn’t win tonight because of our offense, it was our defensive pressure.”

That defensive pressure was Campbell’s worst nightmare, causing 15 turnovers in the first half.

The Camels’ turnover problem began late in the first quarter. The Cards had an 8-5 lead before the full-court press allowed them to go on a 10-2 run.

They didn’t let up in the second period, forcing more turnovers and 10-second calls to push their lead to 30-13 midway through the quarter.

The fast-paced, high-intensity style of basketball is something Cook has been working on with this team since they began practicing. Before the season started, Cook warned fans that it could take some time for the team to get where they want to be, but for now, they’re where they’ve needed to be.

“They’re about where I thought they’d be at this point,” Cook said. “We’re streaky. You’ll see one run that looks great and then you’ll see a run where we’re trying to figure it out. They’re just having to play a lot right now so whenever we can get our bench right, guys will have fresh legs. There’s still a long way to go.”

One player who has been a key for the Cardinals’ defensive — and offensive — successes early on is junior Jared Wellman. Wellman led the Cards with 19 points, but also rebounded the ball well, had several blocked shots and five steals.

“Jared is a very high IQ player,” Cook said. “It wasn’t his 3-point shot tonight. He had some good looks and missed a few, but he kept playing, he kept diving, he kept making plays, he kept rebounding. He was just in a flow of being aggressive and he’s one of my favorite kids because he’s got one of the best attitudes I’ve ever coached.”

Wellman and the rest of the Cardinals wouldn’t allow the game to get within single digits in the second half even with the Camels giving them everything they had. It was the Camels’ first loss in region play in two seasons.

The Cardinals will play again Saturday evening in The Showcase at Robert D. Campbell Jr. High at 6 p.m. against Floyd Central.

“We’re going to rest our legs a little bit,” Cook said of how the team was going to prepare for the matchup. “They’ve got to be up at 10 a.m. to watch film, and they’ve got a little bit of homework of their own, but I want them to rest their legs a little bit. Since we’re playing this pace, it’s a little different. I want them to make sure they have their legs under them.”

There are two other games preceding the Cardinals’ matchup, Montgomery County takes on Greenup County at 2 p.m. and Madison Central takes on Ashland at 4 p.m.