Fort Frye's Chatum Courson, who was playing in his first game since late December, attempts to steal an inbound pass that was corralled by Meadowbrook’s Mike Ray during the Cadets' 58-43 Division V East District quarterfinal victory Saturday night. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

BEVERLY — Freshman Aydric Wynn’s two foul shots capped Fort Frye’s 58-43 victory versus Meadowbrook here Saturday night in a Division V, East District, quarterfinal as Cadet senior Chatum Courson led the way with a game-high 18 points after making a triumphant return from a broken back he suffered three days before Christmas.

The ninth-seeded Colts (6-17) of head coach Austin Nichols never led as Cadet senior Kainan Bradford, who had 12 points, opened the tilt 22 seconds in with a three-point play.

Meadowbrook pivot Brennan Rice, who led the visitors with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds, scored inside thanks to a feed from Austin Warner, but Grady Hesson followed with a lay-in, Nate Adams drained two charity stripe tosses and Bradford scored again before Courson entered the game for the first time and drained a baseline corner 3 via an Ethan Wagner dish as the Colts called timeout down 12-2 with 3:38 left in the first.

“I thought our guys played very well tonight,” said Cadet head coach Eric Henninger. “Meadowbrook came in ready to play with their defense and they were giving us a lot of full court pressure, and our guys did a good job of not turning the ball over with how much pressure they were seeing.

“I was proud of that. I’m just proud of our effort tonight. It (Courson’s return) was huge. Obviously you could tell it was a huge boost for our team, our fans and everybody. To have him come out and knock down that first shot was huge for everybody. He’s a good leader and talks a lot out there.”

Fort Frye's Kainan Bradford reacts after making the game's opening basket, getting fouled and then converting the three-point play as the Cadets led from start to finish during a 58-43 Division V East District quarterfinal victory Saturday night versus Meadowbrook. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

The Cadets, who have won six straight and improved to 14-9 with a district semifinal rematch set for 7 p.m. Wednesday versus No. 5 Ridgewood at Caldwell, defeated the Generals on their senior night, 50-42, back on Feb. 6.

FFHS pushed in front 14-4 after Ty Worthington converted a pair of foul shots. Although Jake Burris drained a 3 to make it 14-7, Hesson added two more from the line and then Courson hit from downtown again with 7 seconds left to give the hosts a 12-point advantage after one.

“Yeah, December 22 I broke my back in 10 spots at Belpre,” admitted Courson, who had five boards with Adams going for a team-high seven. “I thought in that moment my athletic career was over. It was a hard moment. It’s been a long battle. It’s been tough. Lots of therapy. Lots of nights crying in my car after the games. It’s good to come back. Missing my team. Missing the competition. It’s been a long road and I’m so happy to come back, but I couldn’t do it without the support from this community, support from my coaches, all the doctors.

“It’s been a team effort. It’s not just me. Thank the Lord. The last week I’ve really been thinking there’s a chance I could come back. I’ve been running. I’ve put my blood, sweat and tears into this last week just to come back for this game. I’ve wanted this since third grade when I came to Fort Frye. I didn’t care about a golf sectional or baseball, I wanted a basketball sectional. It’s been four years since we’ve had a playoff game (win) and I wanted it bad. This is our first sectional win and it just feels great.”

The Cadets had their biggest lead of the affair midway through the second at 27-8 after opening the quarter on an 8-1 run that included six points from Courson, including his third triple, as well as two foul shots from Caden Henniger, who took a pair of charges against Bentley Sedor.

Fort Frye's Wyatt Duskey sets up the offense while being guarded by Meadowbrook’s Jake Burris during the Cadets' 58-43 Division V East District quarterfinal victory Saturday night. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

However, the Colts managed to close the deficit back to a dozen at intermission, 28-16, with the help of a Rice bucket and four free throws from Masyn Campbell. During the second quarter, the two teams combined to go 3 for 26 with the Colts going 1 for 12 and coming up empty on all six of their attempts from distance.

Down but not out, Meadowbrook regrouped at halftime and opened the third on a 12-5 spurt that was capped by Sedor’s three-point play. Despite closing it to 33-28, the Colts never got any closer.

Fort Frye pushed back ahead 39-31 entering the fourth thanks in part to a Duskey three-point play as well as a Hesson dime to Bradford.

The Cadets, who shot 40.5% (17 of 42) and limited the Colts to 28.8% (15 of 52), got some breathing room early in the fourth as Henninger hit from downtown and Bradford had a layup to put the hosts ahead by a baker’s dozen.

Hesson joined Colt Blake Lappert with eight points while teammates Burris and Mike Ray, who had three assists and a game-high four steals, had seven markers apiece.

Fort Frye's Grady Hesson passes the ball before a halfcourt trap during the Cadets' 58-43 Division V East District quarterfinal victory Saturday night versus Meadowbrook. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“There’s something special about this group and I’ve known it ever since the summer,” added Courson, who said he was just cleared for contact two days ago. “We have a bond in this locker room and that’s what I missed. Being back out there I could really feel it. Watching that first 3 go in, the crowd standing up.

“It’s just great. They fought their tales off and kudos to them, their seniors and everyone on that team, but playing for this school I couldn’t ask for a better place to be. I mean you look around, it’s just a great community. Everyone has such a good bond and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com