Jax Wenger’s return to the basketball court has been integral in the success for the Northmor Golden Knights this season. His clutch play continued on Feb. 13 in a 60-56 win over Wynford, where Wenger went off for 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter.
“Our team knows, when Jax Wenger is on his game, that kid is the best player on the floor on both ends and extremely hard to stop offensively,” said Coach Blade Tackett. “His only missed 3-point attempt was a buzzer-beater at the end of a quarter from nearly half-court.”
Wynford was up 5-4 early, but the Golden Knights showed some defensive intensity to keep it a one point game with a block for Drew Hammond. Northmor found themselves down 11-6, but Jax Wenger made it a two point game when he drained a shot from deep.
They tied up the game to end the first, but, Wenger made it a two point lead at the start of the second frame when he stole the ball, and took it coast-to-coast for a layup. Trailing 17-16, Bryson Keirns made a great defensive play on a steal, and then turned it into points with a fast break layup to go up by one. Wynford went up 24-20, but Grant Bentley got them back within one with a three. He then flashed his defense with a blocked shot that he pulled in to regain possession. At the half it was 27-26 in favor of Northmor, in hat had been a back-and-forth battle from the start.
In the third quarter, the Royals had an eight point lead, but Bentley hit another three to make it a 40-35 game. Wynford went up 44-37, but Wenger cut the lead to four on a three from the top of the arc. Wynford outscored the Golden Knights 18-13 in the quarter, and the Golden Knights found themselves trailing 44-40 after three.
Wynford was up 47-42 in the fourth quarter, but Wenger’s hot hand got them back within two points on a three. Up 51-49, Bentley was able to preserve the lead by coming out of nowhere to swat away a Wynford layup attempt. Northmor went on to outscore the Royals 21-12 in the fourth quarter, and the Golden Knights walked away with hard earned win.
“We got contributions from everyone on Tuesday and that helped us beat a very talented Wynford team,” Tackett said.
Northmor shot 44% in the win, and went 6-for-17 from three. They were also efficient from the foul line going 7-for-11 as a team. The Golden Knights led 32-28 in rebounds, 15-14 in assists, 9-7 in steals and 4-2 in blocks.
Wenger and Bentley have been a formidable duo to take care of for any opposing defense. Against Wynford, Wenger had 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting. He was 4-for-5 from three and hit both his foul shots. Wenger also grabbed six boards, and tallied four assists and a steal.
Bentley had a double-double in the win. He grabbed 10 boards and also scored 15 points that included a pair of threes and going 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Bentley also had four assists, two blocks and a steal. On the season, Bentley is averaging a KMAC high 19.3 points.
“Jax and Grant did their typical stuff,” said Coach Tackett. “Grant was great on the boards, even after his shoulder dislocated again. He's a great rebounder and unfortunately, he's had to sacrifice that aggressiveness on the boards this year just to stay on the floor. However, on Wednesday he went after every rebound and ended up with a double-double. When Wynford went on a 15-0 run between the end of the second and the beginning of the third, Jax Wenger clawed us back into it with a few finishes around the basket and two huge threes.”
Keirns put together a solid night with nine points, two assists, a rebound and a steal in the win.
Hammond also stood out to Tackett, saying that his rebounding int he second half, including the last possession where an offensive board could have led to a scoring chance. Hammond had seven defensive rebounds, a steal, a block and two points.
Hunter Fulk was his usual reliable self with nine points, five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
“He's (Fulk) one of the best slashers in the area, and is a great anticipator on defense,” Tackett said.
Tackett also praised his bench for putting in quality minutes with key plays. He said this was a team win, through and through.
“Trevor Brubaker found himself on the floor for some good minutes after an injury has kept him off of varsity for longer than he wanted to be,” Tackett said. “AJ Bower, who basically kept us competitive against Fredericktown, gave us some great minutes early on. Isaac Black is an anchor for us defensively, he knows our scouting reports better than I do, and he got some timely rebounds throughout the game. That's what I love about our team. The lineups may change from game to game based on what is fitting at the time.”
