On Feb.23, the 2023 OHSAA Boys Basketball playoffs began, and by March 3, only one local team was still standing. The Northmor Golden Knights won two games and advanced to the Division IV, Region 16 District Finals with a chance to move on to the Regional semis.
No. 2 Columbus Patriot Preparatory 50, No. 3 Northmor 38 (OT)
No. 3 Northmor (15-10) went to the District Finals of the Division IV, Region 16 OHSAA tournament for the first time in school history, and while Grant Bentley’s 20 points led all scorers, the Golden Knights had trouble getting foul shots to fall down the stretch and suffered a 50-38 overtime loss to No. 2 Columbus Patriot Prep (19-6).
The Golden Knights started off the scoring with a three by Hunter Fulk with about 7:45 on the clock in the first. Fulk then showed off his skills on defense when he poked a ball loose for a steal. Northmor was on a 5-0 run to start the game before Patriot Prep hit a three to cut the lead to two. Jax Wenger then jumped into a passing lane for a steal with just under five minutes to go in the quarter. With 4:30 on the clock it was a 5-5 game when Bentley fired off a three from the top of the arc to go up by three. With 2:30 left in the first quarter, Bentley drained another three to give Northmor an 11-10 lead. Northmor led 13-12 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Eagles were looking to take a lead on a drive to the bucket, but Wenger rejected a layup. Northmor was up 19-16 toward the end of the quarter and the Eagles were looking to tie things up with a three from the corner, but Isaac Black came flying out of nowhere for a blocked shot. The ball went out of bounds and the Eagles scored on the next possession to make it a one-point game. On their next possession they were looking to take a lead, but Caleb Schnuerer recorded a block of his own. Northmor had a 19-18 lead at halftime with both teams scoring six points in the quarter.
In the third quarter, the Eagles took a 24-19 lead, but Wenger got a 3-pointer off and swished it to put the score at 24-22 in favor of Patriot Prep. Max Lower then recorded a steal with 4:50 left. The Eagles outscored the Golden Knights 10-7 in the quarter to take a two-point lead, 28-26.
In the fourth quarter, Patriot Prep drove into the frontcourt, but following a steal by Wenger, Bentley nailed a three from the corner to put Northmor up 29-28. Bentley scored on a pair of layups to make it a 33-31 game, but Patriot Prep was able to come back and tie up the game to send it into overtime, where they dominated 17-5 and came out on top for the win to take the district title.
Northmor had only four players score. Bentley led all scorers with 20 points, while Wenger had 11 points and four assists in the loss. Fulk added five points and Max Lower scored two and led the Knights with 11 rebounds, including five offensive boards.
Coach Blade Tackett took to Facebook after the game to express his thanks for the support of the Golden Knight community and tell how proud he was of the squad.
“Heart is broken for our players,” Tackett wrote. “At the same time I’m beyond proud of them. I’m proud of their growth over the season. I’m proud of their toughness, preparation and execution during this tournament run."
Tackett later told the media: "As you all know by now, I'm sure, our season came to an end against a very talented Patriot Prep team. I believe we executed a nearly perfect game plan and that's a credit to the players. We were exactly where we wanted to be at the end of the game, as we were up two and at the line shooting a 1-and-1 with 1:16 left in regulation. We missed the front end, but got a stop. We were at the line again with under a minute left and got another 1-and-1. Unfortunately, we missed the front end again and their best player came down and made an incredible scoop layup to tie the game.
"They called a timeout and in the preceding possession, we turned the ball over on the inbounds," he said. "They took the last shot and missed, which sent it to overtime. They got up a couple of scores in OT and extended the lead at the free-throw line. I'm proud of our players for their effort, execution and growth this season. I will never forget this year of coaching and that's because of the special players we had and the special memories they provided with their play on the floor."
Tackett summed up the team and his feelings on Facebook: "In this life and in basketball, sometimes you need some luck and when we were lucky enough to drop to D4 we knew for an entire season that we would have an opportunity to make a deep run. We tell our players almost every day, when life presents you with great opportunities, you have to go after them with full effort. Every one of our players did that and I will forever love them for giving our team and our community the opportunity to experience that district final contest. We gave our maximum effort and sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way in the end. I am proud of them.
“Thank you to all of our players this year, not just the 13 we finished with," he wrote. "Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for being coachable. Most of all, thank you for being great kids. We are spoiled in our program. We have phenomenal young men and I love them all. When this sting goes away, we will get back to work and remember this night. We will use it as motivation. But we will also reflect on this 2022-2023 season fondly, knowing that we have memories and life lessons that we can cherish forever. Go Knights.”
Northmor’s only senior, Max Lower, spoke with the media in a post-game interview in which he thanked his teammates. He expressed that Bentley is always able to hit from the corner, Drew Hammond grabs rebounds and Wenger brings the ball up the court with “tenaciousness.”
“All my guys here, they’re amazing,” Lower said. “I love them all.”
Lower said the outlook is bright for the Northmor squad, adding that he expects them to go even deeper in the playoffs and be right back in the hunt for years to come.
Northmor shot 30% as a team and 28% from 3-point land. They only made 20% of their foul shots. The Eagles shot 33% and 20% from three, and made 62% of their free throws. The Golden Eagles narrowly controlled the glass with a 36-34 rebound advantage, but Patriot Prep led 12-10 in assists and they outscored the Knights in the paint 26-18. The game might have come down to the Eagles' defense, leading 9-4 in steals, 16 to seven in deflections and turning the ball over only seven times, to 14 for Northmor. Both teams had three blocks.
Northmor previously beat No. 8 Delaware Christian 61-44, and No. 12 Sugar Grove Berne Union 64-29. The Eagles previously defeated No. 11 Lancaster Fisher Catholic 64-46 and No. 17 Mechanicsburg 63-52.
The Eagles moved on to face Jackson Center (24-1) in the Division IV Regional semifinal. Jackson Center previously beat Cincinnati College Prep 56-34 to take the Southwest District title.
