Mount Gilead 65, Northmor 63
Matt Bland of Mount Gilead (7-6, 5-3) and Grant Bentley of Northmor (7-6, 5-3) battled in a shootout on Jan. 13, in which the Indians squeaked by with a 65-63 win thanks to a clutch last-second shot by Aaron Gannon.
Northmor led 13-9 after one quarter, with Hunter Fulk scoring seven points for the Golden Knights to lead the charge. Mount Gilead got six points from Bland and a three from Carter Kennon. In the second quarter, Bland hit three shots from downtown and scored 11 total points to help Mount Gilead take a 25-24 lead at halftime. Bentley scored five points in quarter.
Mount Gilead put up 22 points and Northmor scored 18 in the third quarter to make it a 47-42 game in favor of the Indians. Bland put up eight points to lead the way for Mount Gilead. Bentley scored six points for the Knights.
Bentley was clutch in the fourth quarter with 13 points, including three makes from deep, but Bland’s hot hand continued with a pair of threes and four free throws to help secure the two-point win that came right down to the wire, when Gannon hit the go-ahead basket with 0.7 seconds left.
“Great game,” said Mount Gilead boys basketball coach Dan Strasser. “The guys found a way. Great game from our seniors. Matthew Bland, Carter Kennon and Aaron Gannon.”
Bland scored 35 points to lead all scorers. He had six threes in the game and was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. Bland also had seven boards and four steals. Kennon had 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Gannon added eight points, including the winning basket. Northmor was led by Bentley’s 26 points, including three from deep. Fulk scored 18 points and Drew Hammond added nine points.
Northridge 62, Utica 58
In a roller coaster ride of a game between Utica (9-3, 3-2) and Northridge (9-2, 5-0), the Redskins hit timely threes down the stretch and made great defensive moves near the rim, but the Vikings came away with a 62-58 win on Jan. 12.
In the first quarter, Utica found themselves down 13-8 with 3:25 on the clock. Brody McDaniel recorded a timely block to keep the game within five, which was promptly followed by a Gavin Chinn block at the 2:30 mark, and down 16-10 with 1:45 left, Roman Gamble stepped in front of a pass for a steal.
Northridge had a 25-20 lead with 3:50 left in the second quarter when Zach Heckman deftly snatched a steal. At the 2:15 mark, down 27-22, Chinn also stole a pass showing the strong defensive effort being put forth by the Redskins. It continued down 27-24, with McDaniel swatting away another shot under the hoop. Seconds later, Gamble blocked a layup, and down 27-26 with time winding down in the quarter, McDaniel jumped in front of a pass to help keep it a one-point game at the half.
In the third quarter, down 33-26, Dylan Yates made it a four-point game on a three despite a hand in his face. With 6:06 left, McDaniel sank a shot from deep to bring the Redskins within one, 33-32.
It was a three-point game in the fourth quarter with less than two minutes left when Gamble tied the game at 52-52 with a clutch three. With under 10 seconds left, at 60-54, Gamble drained a three, but the Vikings were able to hold on for a four-point victory.
Centerburg 67, Danville 27
Colton Martin was a dominant force for Centerburg (7-6, 6-2) on Jan. 13, helping the Trojans take a 67-27 win over KMAC-rival Danville (4-7, 1-5).
It was a close game in the first quarter, with the Trojans outscoring Danville 14-10. Martin scored six points to lead the Trojans and Levi Lyons and Max Payne scored five points apiece for Danville.
In the second quarter, Centerburg outscored the Blue Devils 21-9 with a monster quarter for Martin with 13 points. Grayson Reynolds scored six points in the quarter for Centerburg, helping the team take a 35-19 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, the scoring onslaught continued for Centerburg with a 21-6 advantage. Trevin Harris scored seven points and Martin had five points. The Trojans finished out the game strong, scoring 10 points and holding Danville to only two.
Martin led all scorers with 26 points, including going 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. Reynolds and Harris each scored 13 points in the win.
Danville was led by Lyons' and Walker Weckesser’s seven points.
“The boys played well,” said Centerburg boys basketball coach John Marhefka. “We bounced back after a sluggish week. We have been battling sickness, injuries and a lack of focus. All the boys stepped up. We really have to have the right mindset going into the second round of conference play and the last half of the season. Defensively as a team we were pretty strong, hopefully we can take this and keep the momentum going in the right direction.”
Fredericktown 45, East Knox 39
Fredericktown (9-5, 8-0) and East Knox (2-9, 0-6) fought a back-and-forth battle highlighted by some timely threes and solid defense from both squads, and in the end, hot 3-point shooting by Luke Bean led to a 45-39 win, making it three straight wins for the Freddies.
In the first quarter, Kaid Carpenter showed some great work on defense with a steal and a block early in the opening frame. He also displayed excellent shooting touch from deep with a three to go up 5-0 with 6:25 on the clock. The Freddies were on a 7-0 run to open the game until Jaxon Lester put East Knox on the board with a three. Carpenter added another steal with the Freddies up 7-5, followed by a Ben Mast block. Ethan Rine also had a steal and a block in the quarter. Corbin Poff and Derrick Field also recorded steals.
In the second quarter, Bean sank a three, making it a five-point game with 7:35 left. The Freddies were up 12-7 when Xavier Mullins got in on the defensive work with a steal with about 6:30 left. With 3:33 left in the second quarter, Fredericktown capitalized off of a steal and fast break score by Brady Lester to go up 14-11. Moments later, Carter Wesney of East Knox tied the game 14-14. With less than a minute to go in the half, East Knox had a 16-15 lead and Rine came away with another acrobatic block to keep it a one-point game.
At the beginning of the third quarter, East Knox led 18-15 and Rine continued his strong work on defense with a big block. East Knox was up by two points but Bean hit a timely three to make it a 26-25 lead for Fredericktown. Down 27-26, Bean hit another three to give the Freddies a two-point lead. In the fourth quarter, Bean struck again to give Fredericktown a 32-27 lead. Lester then made it a two-point game after hitting a three with 6 minutes left in the game. With 2:40 left, it was a 36-32 Freddies lead when Rine had two blocks right underneath the basket. Lester also recorded a steal with about 1:30 left, but the Freddies closed out the game strong with a six-point win.
