KARNS CITY — Union boys basketball coach Karen Davis doesn't need coffee.

Her team's frenetic play is stimulating enough.

Union forced 13 first-quarter turnovers with a stifling and swarming press defense and caused Karns City to turn the ball over 27 times in the game.

That was more than enough to give the Gremlins the jitters in a 60-41 home loss Thursday night.

"We're going to have to win games with defense," Davis said. "We're going to need to get easy shots."

When the Golden Knights did get easy looks, they generally made them, particularly early in game.

Union went on an 11-2 run to start the game and an 11-0 run to end the first quarter.

That put Karns City in catch-up mode. It never did.

"(Union) really played well," said Karns City coach Steve Andreassi. "They outplayed us the whole game. They went after it.

"They took us out of our pace," the coach added. "Once you get down after 13 turnovers in the first quarter, it's hard to keep pace."

A.J. Ethriedge scored 19 points for Union despite some streaky shooting.

He began the first half 3-of-13 from the field, then hit 5-of-6 shots on the third quarter before cooling off again in the fourth period.

Ethriedge wasn't shy about shooting in Union's fast-paced offense, taking 24 shots. He also had 13 rebounds.

Scott Booth scored 14 points in just two quarters of play for Union.

He picked up his fourth foul in the first minute of the third quarter and bruised his knee on the same play, forcing him to the trainer's room.

Davis said the injury doesn't appear to be serious.

That's a good thing for the Golden Knights because the sophomore has sparked Union in its first four games.

Right now, Karns City is looking for a spark. Finding it may be a work in progress as several key members of the team are still rounding into basketball shape after a long football season.

Cameron Turner, who was named the District 9 Defensive Player of the Year, scored nine points and also had 14 rebounds for the Gremlins, despite wrist and back injuries left over from the gridiron.

Mike and MattMcConnell, also banged up from football, combined to score 18 points for Karns City.

Davis was just happy to get a game in with the Gremlins early in the season.

"I knew they would probably be a little bit shaky because they were just coming off of football," Davis said. "We knew getting them early was going to be good for us."

But Andreassi isn't willing to use his rusty football players as a crutch. The Gremlins are 1-1 but clearly have some work to do.

"You can use that (as an excuse) if you want," Andreassi said. "Our goal is to come together. Maybe in the back of our minds we thought we might get off to a slow start."

Andreassi said it may take two weeks for his football players to get their basketball legs under them.

UNION 60Zac Smith 2-8 2-2 7, A.J.Ethriedge 9-24 1-3 19, Travis Anthony 0-2 0-0 0, Neil Scott 1-2 0-1 2, Colby Davis 0-2 0-0 0, Clay Burns 1-8 4-4 6, Scott Booth 4-9 5-6 14, Spencer Varner 4-7 1-2 12, John Heeter 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Logue 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 21-62 13-18 60

KARNS CITY 41Brad Fuhrer 0-0 0-0 0, Cory Terwilliger 2-5 0-0 5, Mike McConnell 2-6 6-7 10, Cameron Turner 4-14 1-4 9, Tyler Barger 0-0 0-0 0, Matt McConnell 2-9 2-2 8, Cody Williams 0-0 2-2 2, DanEveretts 0-0 0-0 0, Markus Lavan 1-2 1-3 3, Evan Olszak 2-4 0-0 4, Brandon Collier 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals: 13-41 12-18 41

Union 22 12 21 5—60Karns City 8 14 13 6—413-point goals: Smith, Booth, Varner 3; Terwilliger, Matt McConnell 2

JV: Karns City 50-39

Monday: Clarion at Union; Ford City at Karns City