The Northmor boys’ basketball team picked up their fifth straight win, with the Golden Knights taking another KMAC victory over East Knox (2-13, 2-6) 61-44 on Jan. 28. Grant Bentley, Jax Wenger and Drew Hammond put up solid numbers in the game to propel the team to team to another vital win.
“Another great team effort on our way to our fifth straight win,” said Coach Blade Tackett. “We didn't shoot jumpers well tonight but we did everything we wanted defensively and were able to finish around the basket.”
Northmor started off on the good foot with a 14-9 first quarter, led by Grant Bentley’s eight points. They continued the momentum in the second quarter with a 20-7 advantage, taking a commanding 34-16 lead into halftime. Bentley had 12 points and Wenger had 10 points in the first half.
In the third quarter Bentley led the Golden Knights in a 13-9 third quarter, hitting a three and scoring six points. East Knox finished strong with a 19-14 fourth quarter, but the damage had already been done and Northmor walked away with the 17 point win.
Bentley had 21 points including a pair of threes in the win. He also grabbed five boards and tallied two assists and three steals.
Wenger had 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Coach Tackett has been very happy with Wenger, who returned from an injury and has been a main component to the team’s recent success.
“Quite impressive from Jax, he is getting back to form,” said Tackett. “These are the kind of numbers he was putting up at the end of last year and into the tournament run that he would have been having all season if not for the foot injury. I could be a little biased stating that, but the kid is very talented.”
Drew Hammond put up a double-double line of 10 points and 10 rebounds, and also had two steals.
Hunter Fulk scored six points to go with four steals, three assists and an offensive board. Isaac Black had four points, a steal, an assist and three offensive rebounds. AJ Bower and Trevor Brubaker rounded out the scoring with a basket each for two points.
Northmor shot 38.1% but struggled from three, going 3-for-23. East Knox went for 32.4% and was 4-for-15 from deep. East Knox was fantastic at the foul line, however, going 18-for-22, while Northmor went 10-for-16.
Northmor forced 23 turnovers and capitalized with 22 points off them. They also had a 40-10 point advantage in the paint. Northmor led in boards 36-28, 11-6 in assists and 12-4 inn steals.
The last time the Golden Knights lost was on Jan. 5 against Cardington-Lincoln, in a tight 51-49 battle. In the game AJ Hall of the Pirates had a sweet and-one play with less than minute left to secure the win, and thwart a late comeback effort by Northmor. They’ll have the chance to avenge the loss this week.
“I'm proud of our team for the way we have responded since our lost to Cardington,” Coach Tackett said. “It's going to be electric on Wednesday. These are the kinds of games that you dream about having this time of year and we will be ready to give a very good Cardington team our best effort.”
Northmor started off the year 2-2, and since then they have been lights winning 10 of 12 games. Cardington-Lincoln are on a two game slide but are third in the conference at 5-2, with a solid 9-5 record overall. The game could be a high scoring affair, as it features two of the top offenses in the conference. They have outscored teams 907-713 in 14 games, and average 64 points per game to lead KMAC. Northmor has outscored opponents 972-786, averaging about 60 points per contest, good for second.
Bryer Korosec led the scoring for East Knox with 13 points. He was 7-for-10 from the free throw line. Hayden Merritt had 10 points with a pair of threes. Kyson Miller had seven points, hitting a three and going 4-for-4 from the line. Logan Whitney went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe for all four of his points.
It has been a tough season for East Knox, although the past couple weeks was the best stretch of the season for the Bulldogs. After losing the first 11 games of the season, they beat Danville and Mount Gilead to go 2-2 since.
Northmor hosts Cardington-Lincoln on Jan. 31 and East Knox travels to Centerburg on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
