Grant Bentley is moving up the list of top Northmor (4-2, 2-0) scorers, as he recently hit the 1,000 point mark and is now sitting in third place after putting up 21 points in a 73-43 win over Mount Gilead (3-3, 1-1) on Dec. 19.
Northmor went up 21-13 after one quarter, and Drew Hammond had the hot hand early with 12 points including a hit from downtown. Bentley had four points in the quarter. Mount Gilead got seven points out of Mitchell Sayers in the opening frame.
The Golden Knights took a 39-23 lead at halftime with Bentley putting up seven points in the second to give him 11 points at the half. Hammond led the charge with 16 first half points. Sayers put up 13 points for the Indians.
The heavy scoring output continued for Northmor in the third quarter, with a 25-17 advantage led by Bentley’s eight points. Jacob Wilt had a three, his second of the night, for the Indians. Rowan Fitzpatrick scored four points.
It was all Northmor in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Indians 9-3 down the stretch to take the 30 point win.
Bentley’s 21 points included a three and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Hammond scored 20 points, all in the first three quarters. He had a double-double on the night with 16 boards and also hit a three in the game. This was the second straight double-double and second straight game of 15 or more rebounds for Hammond.
Trevor Brubaker and AJ Bower reached double figures with 10 points, including a three in the third quarter.
Bentley, who hit the 1,000 point mark in a Dec. 15 win over Centerburg, now has 1,059 points on the season. During the Mount Gilead game he passed Adrian Wilson, who had a total of 1,041 points. The star senior is behind Meechie Johnson with 1,126 points and John Loyer, who had 1,479 points all without the three point line.
It was a terrific all-around night for the Golden Knights, and Coach Blade Tackett was impressed by the play on both offense and defense. The team shot 45% from three and 65% in two point range. He called it a “great team victory” and said they put in a “great defensive effort” to beat the Indians.
“Having two kids score 20 for us is huge without our second-leading scorer from last year,” said Tackett. “We are starting to figure out how to play with this version of our team. Everyone has been a star in their role for the last two games and we have had great team victories. We still have an All-Ohio point guard to get back and another player in Bo Landin that had a breakout football season and is itching to show his basketball ability at the varsity level. Meanwhile, the rest of our guys remain confident, coachable, and hungry to compete every game.”
Starting off 4-2 with the adversity they have had all season is something that Tackett said the team should be proud of. He said if they continue to improve, stay patient and get healthy, there is a very high ceiling for the Golden Knights.
“The team is resilient and the kids are great players and wonderful individuals outside of basketball,” Tackett said.
Northmor is also taking on East Knox (0-5, 0-2) this week, but results will come after deadline. Tackett said he has great respect for Coach Ryan Powell and considers him a close friend, and is looking forward to the matchup. He said getting conference wins are a major deal in a tightly contested Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
“The conference win is huge,” Tackett said. “The KMAC is an absolute grind every night. The kids all know each other and compete like crazy on every game. The energy was high tonight, the student sections were loud, it was a great high school basketball environment. We are very fortunate to start 2-0 but know we have to continue to take it a game at a time.”
The Indians were led by Sayers with 15 points as the only player on Mount Gilead to hit double figures. Cameron Vickers and Wilt each had six points.
