COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The second matchup of the day at the Clark Kellogg Classic was a defensive battle from the beginning to the end between Worthington Christian and Bloom Carroll. Worthington Christian, albeit a fierce rally from Bloom-Carroll, survived every haymaker in a 53-48 win at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday.

With the game being tied at 17 at the half, both teams were playing tremendously tough defense as neither team were able to gain an edge through the first half. The Warriors came out of the gate swinging, as they started the second half on a quick 9-0 run to gain control through the third and into the fourth- but the Bulldogs weren't having it.

They battled back to cut the deficit to one at 49-48 with a little more than a minute remaining but couldn't convert on offensive opportunities. Worthington Christian would go on to make their final four free throws and hold on to put Saturday's game away.

The seniors led the way for the Warriors, as forward Jay Joseph was the player of the game for Worthington Christian, as he finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Mark Shoemaker tallied 16 points, 10 of them being in the second half, and senior Jayden Turner contributed 15 points and five rebounds in the victory.

For Bloom-Carroll, 6-foot-7 senior Matt Smith carried the team on the boards as he tallied 13 rebounds and added nine points to his efforts. Senior guard Justin Harvey led the Bulldogs in scoring with 10 points.

Worthington Christian will look to keep winning on Tuesday with a road matchup at Johnstown. Bloom-Carroll will look to rebound on Friday with a road matchup at Liberty Union, who scored just 23 points vs. West Muskingum last night.