Bulldogs tune up with cruise over Trojans, 49-33
East Knox (16-6, 8-4) wrapped up its regular season on Feb. 18 with a 49-33 win over Tree of Life (15-7, 11-1), and the Bulldogs look to carry that momentum into the playoffs, where they will take on the winner of Columbus Patriot Prep and Delaware Christian on Feb. 25 in a Division 4 sectional.
East Knox went on a 9-0 run to start the game, leaving the Trojans scoreless in the opening quarter. The Trojans got on the board in the second quarter with six points, but the Bulldogs tacked on 15 points of their own to go up 24-6 at the half. Shane Knepp led the way with 12 points in the first half
It didn’t get much easier for the Trojans in the third quarter, as EK outscored them 15-6, but Tree of Life battled in the fourth quarter, overwhelming the Bulldogs 21-9. It wasn’t nearly enough to get back into the game, and East Knox cruised to a victory, ending the regular season on a high note.
East Knox led in just about every factor, out-rebounding Tree of Life 24-23, out-assisting the Trojans 12-8 and outshooting them 53% to 25%. The Bulldogs also hit 50% of their shots from 3-point range and had an advantage defensively in the block department, 4-1.
Knepp was the lone player in double figures, scoring a game-high 19 points. Dillon Moreland had nine points in the win.
Lucas leads all the way, tops Mount Gilead 53-47
On Feb. 18, the Mount Gilead Indians (8-14, 5-7) hosted Lucas High School (18-4, 9-1) in the final regular season nonconference matchup and trailed from the start in a 53-47 loss.
After one quarter, the Indians trailed 14-9 despite a pair of threes by Paul Butterman and another three by Matthew Bland. The Cubs held a 27-21 halftime lead after a solid second quarter in which Aaron Rogers scored four points, Kennon Carter hit a three and Bland drained his second three of the contest for the Indians.
The third quarter was much of the same, with Lucas outscoring Mount Gilead 12-8 as neither team could find momentum. Carter hit his second three of the day in the quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Indians mounted a comeback and did come within five points as time was winding down, highlighted by a five-point effort from Butterman and 4-for-4 at the line by Rogers. The Indians outpointed the Cubs 18-14 in the fourth, but Lucas held on for the five-point win.
Neither team shot particularly well in the game, with Mount Gilead edging out Lucas 39% to 38%, but Lucas had eight steals to Mount Gilead’s two, which was a part of the difference in the win.
Butterman had 13 points in the game to lead the Mount Gilead squad in scoring. Bland pitched in 11 points and Carter had nine points on three makes from downtown. Rogers scored eight points, and Elijah Chafin added six points.
The Division 3 sectional takes place on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m., when Mount Gilead goes on the road to face North Union.
North Union’s big fourth quarter takes down Northmor, 53-36
In its final tune-up before its Division 3 sectional meeting against the Mount Gilead/North Union winner, Northmor traveled to Richwood, Ohio, to get a look at a possible playoff opponent, the North Union Wildcats, on Feb. 17. North Union came into the game with an 18-4 record, and the result played out as expected, but the Wildcats had their hands full with the fighting Golden Knights before taking the 53-36 victory in front of its hometown fans.
North Union held on to a 12-9 lead after one, getting all of its scoring from Aaron Krebehenne with seven and Zach Vernon with five. Grant Bentley nailed a trey and a deuce in the first for Northmor.
The ’Cats extended the lead to 25-21 after a tightly contested first half as Owen Davis dropped in three field goals. Bentley and Andrew Armose each netted threes, and Max Lower drilled in a pair of 2-pointers in the second
After the break, Northmor gave the Wildcats more than they bargained for and cut the lead to 33-31 with one quarter to play. Lower and Graesin Cass each scored four in the third for the Golden Knights. But in front of their fans, the Wildcats played up to their billing in the fourth and took control, outscoring Northmor 20-5 to pull off a 17-point win that was closer than the score indicated. Six Wildcats got in on the scoring in the fourth, and Hammond rainbowed a three and Lower sank a deuce for all of the Golden Knights’ points in the fourth. Lower paced the Knights with 10 points for the game, and Cass chipped in with seven.
Northmor finished the regular season at 12-10 and went 6-5 in KMAC play.
Second half score fest propels Northside Christian to 75-65 win over Danville
In another playoff tune-up Feb. 17, Northside Christian (10-10) played a back-and-forth contest with Danville that ticked up in the second half and culminated in a 75-65 win for the Lions. While the two teams combined for 60 points in the first half, they rattled the twine for 80 points combined in the second.
Darren Mickley got things started for Danville with nine points in the first as Danville played Northside to a 17-17 tie. The second quarter was nearly as tight, with NC coming away with a 14-12 advantage to take a 31-29 lead at the break. Max Payne’s six points were tops for the Blue Devils in the second.
Danville’s Walker Weckessor was held to four points in the first half but went to work ion the second half and scored 21 points. His 16 points in the third (of 20 Danville points in the quarter) kept the Blue Devils in the game, as the Lions scored 22 and broadened their lead to 53-49 entering the final quarter.
In the fourth, Danville put up 16 points, with Cam Miller hitting for six and Weckesser for five, but Northside scored at will, netting 22 points for a 10-point victory.
Four of the six Danville scorers put up double figures in the game: Weckesser with a game-high 25, Darren Mickley with 13, and Cam Miller and Max Payne with 10 each.
The loss dropped Danville to 11-13 on the season. Danville will meet Columbus Tree of Life (15-6) in the Division 4 sectionals on Friday.
