Warren’s Jackson Perdue (2) goes up for a layup against Fort Frye during Tuesday’s game in Beverly. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

BEVERLY — Blake Grimes tossed in 17 points to lead five Warren scorers in double figures as the Warriors downed the snake-bitten Fort Frye Cadets 72-60 Tuesday evening on Dan Liedtke Court.

The Warriors got off to a great start and then survived several Fort Frye runs to even their season record at 5-5.

Fort Frye started the season 6-0 but have now lost three in a row while losing a pair of starters to season-ending injuries prior to Tuesday night’s game and then losing two more during the physical contest.

“There is no doubt that our effort was there tonight,” said Fort Frye head coach Eric Henniger. “We were pretty much down to our last five guys for the night and our guys were diving on the ground and giving their bodies up and battling all the way to the end.”

Warren set the tone early as they jumped out to a 13-3 midway through the first quarter.

Fort Frye’s Grady Hesson (22) goes up for a jumper as Warren’s Liam Grosselin (4) and Blake Grimes (23) contest during Tuesday’s game in Beverly. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

That lead swelled to a dozen after a triple and a two-pointer from Jackson Perdue.

Fort Frye came off the mat to finish the first quarter strong with Ethan Wagner converting on a pair of free throws and Connor Sturm driving to the bucket for a pair just before the buzzer sounded to cut the lead to eight.

Wagner’s basket to begin the second quarter got the Fort back to within six before Warren began to stretch their lead.

After a three-point play by Fort Frye’s Kainan Bradford cut the Warren lead to 35-26 with just over two minutes to play in the half, the Warriors got triples by Hudson Elzey and Liam Grosselin to extend their lead to 14, their biggest cushion of the half.

“It was a very physical game and we missed a lot of shots in the first half,” said Warren head coach Blane Maddox. “It’s never easy here and we just had to keep battling.”

Warren’s Blake Grimes (23) goes up for a shot as Fort Frye’s Grady Hesson (22) contests during Tuesday’s game in Beverly. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

The Cadets ended the half on a high note when Wagner knocked down a long triple just before the buzzer sounded to make it a 43-32 game at the break.

The pesky Cadets managed to stay within striking distance but could not put together that one long run large enough to get them closer.

Back-to-back Cadet buckets by Terry Tompkins and Wagner cut the lead to eight, but Warren recovered and built its lead back to 12 heading to the final quarter.

The Cadets were able to get back within 10 at one point in the final quarter, but it wouldn’t be near enough as the Warriors held on for the 12-point win.

Joining Grimes in double figures for the Warriors was Perdue and Elzey with 15 points apiece, Caleb Tulius with 11 and Grosselin with 10.

“They like each other and they share the basketball well,” said Maddox, whose team dished out 16 assists in the game, led by Jaxon Venham with five. “That’s good for the team to have that many kids involved.”

The Warriors dominated the glass as they out-rebounded the Cadets 36-25, led by Tulius with nine and Grimes and Venham with eight each.

Maddox felt like it was important for his team to get back to .500 before they head into the toughest portion of their schedule

“We are just trying to keep getting better and improving every game so it’s good to get back to .500,” said Maddox. “It gets tougher from here on out so we’ve just got to keep working and keep getting better.”

Fort Frye was led in scoring by Grady Hesson with 13 points and Wagner with 11.

Tompkins came off of the bench to give Henniger some strong minutes under the basket while also scoring nine points to boot.

“He’s a great kid and he did a good job filling in underneath the basket for us,” said Henniger of Tompkins, who also pulled down five rebounds. “He’s a load to guard underneath and he can score and it was great to see some things go in for him.”

With seniors Chatum Courson and Aiden Brooks already likely out for the season, the Cadets could not afford any more setbacks. However, both Bradford and senior Wyatt Duskey were both forced out of the game with injuries.

Those injuries led to some playing time for the Cadets of the future in Sturm, Caden Henniger, Ty Worthington and Cade Hoskinson, and they all stepped in and contributed for the gritty Cadet team.

“I’ve never seen so many (injuries) like we have had this year and we are in need of bodies for sure,” said Henniger. “I was really proud of how everybody came in and fought and the effort they gave us.”

Fort Frye will remain home on Friday to take on a red-hot Marietta Tiger squad while the Warriors travel to Tri-Valley on Saturday.