Northmor 74, Danville 40
Grant Bentley put on a historic show in what was a school record 45-point night, as Northmor (4-2, 4-1) crushed Danville (0-4, 0-4), 74-40 on Dec. 16.
Northmor out-scored Danville 25-12 to take a convincing lead after one quarter. With the game 2-2, Bentley stepped in front of a pass and took it coast-to-coast for a fast break lay-up. Up 10-4, Bentley nailed a three from the corner, and with the score 15-7, Golden Knight Isaac Black showed off his defense with a block. Bentley made it a 20-9 game later in the quarter with a three from the corner, then followed quickly with another three from the top of the key to go up 23-9. Bentley had a red-hot 17-point first-quarter showing, setting the tone for the rest of the night.
The game evened out in the second quarter, with Northmor outscoring the Blue Devils 15-14. As time wound down, following two deft defensive plays by Bentley and Hunter Fulk, Black scored on a fast break to make it 40-24. It was a 40-26 game going into halftime, with the Golden Knights in complete control. Fulk had five points including a three, and Bentley had four points into the quarter.
Northmor’s offense and defense were on full display in the third with a 19-2 advantage for a 59-28 lead. Bentley made it a 59-28 game with a fallaway three on a nice catch-and-shoot. Bentley had 11 points in the quarter, while Jax Wenger scored eight points.
Northmor capped off the game by outscoring the Blue Devils 15-12 in the fourth, led by Bentley’s 13 points. Bentley showed his rim protection skills with a block at 65-28, and at 65-31, he drained a three from a few feet beyond the three-point line.
It was a memorable all-around performance for the Bentley, a 6’1’’ junior, whose 45 points set a school record. He broke Jack Kegley’s record of 43, which was set in 1989.
Bentley is averaging around 17 points per game this season. This was the clear high in all categories, as he shot 71% on 17-for-24 attempts from the field. Bentley made five of his 11 shots from downtown and was 6-for-7 from the free throw line. He shot 92% on two-pointers. Bentley was also huge in other facets of the game with nine defensive boards, four steals, an assist, and a block.
Wenger hit double figures with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting. He also had seven assists, two boards, and two steals. Hunter Fulk scored seven points and had four rebounds and three steals.
Danville was led by Max Payne, who had 20 points, including an eight-point fourth quarter. He hit four threes in the game and was 2-for-2 from the foul line.
As a team, Northmor shot 51% and 38% from deep. They held Danville to 34% and 24%, respectively. Northmor had the rebounding advantage 37-22 but Danville had more assists, 8-7. Northmor led in steals and blocks, 9-5 and 3-2.
Utica 65, Johnstown 54
Trenton Collins was the man of the hour last week for Utica, hitting and topping the 1,000-point milestone in a 65-54 win for the Redskins over Johnstown.
Johnstown started out hot with a 15-6 advantage over Utica, but the Redskins woke up in the second quarter with Collins scoring nine points. The Redskins still found themselves down 27-23 at the half.
The Redskins' offense exploded in the third quarter with 21 points, while allowing 13 for Johnstown. Collins had seven points in the quarter and was inching his way toward the milestone. Zach Heckman hit a three and a pair of free throws. Roman Gamble scored four points and Dylan Yates had a bucket.
The spotlight was on Collins in the fourth quarter when he secured the 1,000-point mark. He had 13 points in the quarter and helped put the game out of reach.
Collins was perfect at the free throw line in the game, going 9-for-9 in a 29-point showing, He hit a pair of threes in the win. Heckman scored 11 points, including two threes. Gamble scored nine points and Yates had eight points; Coach Brian Radabaugh said he was a “monster on the boards.”
Radabaugh was proud of the team’s play as a team.
“We had great combinations throughout the lineup,” he said.
Fredericktown 59, Mount Gilead 27
Brady Lester and Teegan Ruhl proved to be too much for Mount Gilead (2-3, 1-3) last week in KMAC basketball action, with Fredericktown (4-3, 4-0) controlling nearly every facet of the game in a 59-27 win.
Kaid Carpenter recorded a steal in the first minute of the game. He scored on a fast break less than a minute later to make it a 4-0 Freddie lead. Matt Bland brought the game within one on a corner three for Mount Gilead. Later, Aaron Gannon drained a three for the Indians to make it an 8-6 game in favor of the Freddies.
Luke Bean drained a three with 1:25 left, making it an 11-6 advantage for the Freddies. As time was winding down in the quarter, Xavier Mullins had a big block, coming out of nowhere to swat the ball away.
Bean stepped in front of a pass and scored on a fast break to make it a 17-6 game with 6:03 left in the second quarter. Lester led a fast break buzzer-beating lay-up with under 10 seconds left to make it a 30-12 lead going into the half. Gannon had a steal and a block in the quarter, showing his hard defensive effort. The Freddies out-scored Mount Gilead 19-6 and took a commanding 30-12 lead into halftime.
Lester hit a three in the third quarter to make it a 33-14 game at the 5:55 mark. Carpenter had a huge block with 5:35 left. Bland had a block for Mount Gilead in the corner when it was a 35-14 game. He followed that with a score on a fast break, making it 35-16. Cole Frick had a steal for Mount Gilead as well, but the game was already getting out of reach at 46-18. The Freddies outscored Mount Gilead 20-6 with Lester and Teegan Ruhl each scoring eight points, and Fredericktown was up 50-18.
Carter Kennon had a steal for Mount Gilead with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter. Trevor Bellman hit a three for the Freddies to put it at 53-18 with just under six minutes left. Quade Harris hit a three for Mount Gilead to make it 53-21, and Bellman scored on a fast break at 5:28 to make it a 55-21 game.
Lester was the top scorer, with 17 points in the game for the Freddies. Ruhl scored 16 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the line. Carpenter had eight points in the win.
Bland was the only Mount Gilead player in double figures with 11 points, including a three. Harris hit a three in a five-point effort.
The Freddies led in nearly every major category, including 47% to 21% shooting. Both teams shot well from the free-throw line, with Mount Gilead hitting 86% of their shots and Fredericktown draining 80%. The Freddies led in rebounding 34-22, assists 8-4, steals 10-5, and blocks 2-1.
Fredericktown Coach Derek Dibling was happy with the performance of his squad, noting that it was a complete team effort.
“I thought guys came out really focused and locked in, especially when it came to defensive assignments,” Dibling said. “We got contributions across the board and guys found ways to leave their mark on the game.”
Wooster 49, Mount Vernon 27
Ben Bridges had a solid night for the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets (4-2, 2-2), but the team had a tough time finding the basket against Wooster (4-3, 3-1) and took a 49-27 loss on Dec. 16.
Wooster led from the start, taking a commanding 14-4 lead after one quarter, and led 23-11 at halftime. Wooster outscored Mount Vernon in the third quarter 17-7, and both teams scored nine points in the fourth.
Bridges was the lone Yellow Jacket in double figures with 10 points and four boards. Quentin Rowland scored eight points and gathered a pair of rebounds for MV. Caden Rowland had two assists and four rebounds in the game.
Mount Vernon shot only 23% and 16% from three as a team. Their free-throw shooting was a bright spot at 80%. The Jackets also had six steals and two blocked shots in the game.
“We struggled from the start getting anything done offensively,” MV basketball Coach Nick Coon said. “We allowed Wooster to dictate the slow pace of the game and did not play efficiently as we shot 23% from the field. We have to learn as coaches and players quickly what we can clean up and what areas to improve to get ready for our next game to get ourselves back on track.”
