Last year Patriot Prep knocked Northmor out of the postseason in the Division IV District Finals and Coach Blade Tackett said that they have had the silver medal hanging in their locker room all season as a reminder.
On March 5, the No. 3 Golden Knights got their revenge and knocked the No. 4 Eagles out of the playoffs with a 56-47 win, sending them to the District Finals and a chance to take home their first ever District title.
“The keys were on the defensive end for us,” Tackett said. “We had to limit their offensive rebounds and slow down their athleticism by taking charges. Cole Cuffman took four charges for us last night and had three more that were 50/50. While they got some offensive rebounds on us, I thought we battled with them all night underneath.”
Drew Hammond nailed a three from the corner to put the Golden Knights up 5-2 in the first quarter. Then with a 7-6 lead, Grant Bentley grabbed an errant pass for a steal. The first quarter was back-and-forth and it was an 11-11 game going into the second frame.
Patriot Prep had a 14-11 in lead in the second quarter, but Hammond hit his second three of the night to tie up the game. Patriot Prep regained the lead at 18-16, but Hunter Fulk gave the Golden Knights one point advantage on a three of his own. The Eagles dominated most of the quarter and took a 25-19 lead into halftime.
The third quarter started with a nice defensive play by Hammond, who poked away the ball for a steal. The Eagles took a 27-22 lead and were looking for more, but Bentley denied a shot near the hoop. A Patriot Prep bounce got it back to the Eagles and they were able to put it home for a score to go up 29-22.
Patriot Prep’s next possession ended with a Fulk steal on what was looking like a fast break play, and this shifted the momentum. Patriot Prep was up 31-24, but Jax Wenger nailed a three to cut the lead to four. Northmor had a 13-11 third quarter advantage, and at the end of three it was a 36-32 lead for the Eagles.
While Northmor trailed going into the fourth quarter, they turned everything around drastically and dominated the final frame 24-11. Patriot Prep was up 38-34, but Bentley sank a three to cut the lead to one. Then with Northmor up 48-43, the Eagles were looking to get the ball downcourt to try to get back into the game. Fulk thought otherwise and grabbed a steal to get possession back to the Golden Knights. Northmor’s huge quarter propelled them to a nine point win, sending them to the District Finals.
“To win last night against Patriot who beat us last year felt great, but that has not been our goal,” Tackett said. “Our goal is a district championship. Credit Patriot, they have a phenomenal team. So does Northside. They have 19 wins. Friday is not going to be easy but we are ready for the challenge.”
Bentley didn’t have his best game shooting, but he still led the way with 21 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Wenger had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Hammond had nine points, seven boards, two assists and two steals. Fulk put up eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Bryson Keirns rounded out the scoring with three points, and also had three boards and an assist.
“It took Grant three quarters but he came alive in the fourth,” Tackett said. “Jax was consistent all night. Hunter hit a big three and was great from the line. Hunter also got two key steals that saved a couple layups. Drew had a huge first quarter and battled on the boards all night. Keirns had a key offensive rebound put back in the fourth that put us up two or three possessions.”
Tackett credited his scout team for preparing them for the game, and helping them come away with the big win.
“Our tournament team is extremely important,” Tackett said. “They have played as "Patriot Prep" for the last week and have given our guys about as good of a look as we could possibly get. For the last two years, our scout team has been as instrumental in our tournament run as the guys that get minutes.”
