GALION — Last Friday, the Northmor boys basketball team welcomed the Fredericktown Freddies to their gymnasium to compete in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Blue Division action. The Knights continued their upward momentum and kept their eyes on a conference title, upending the Freddies by a final of 51-43.

Northmor sits at 15-5 overall and 9-3 in the MOAC Blue while Fredericktown drops to 6-14 and 4-8.

The Golden Knights would use a big first half to get the best of the Freddies early. Northmor opened the game with a first quarter lead of 15-9 and carried that momentum into the second, outscoring Fredericktown again, 19-10 to hold on to a 34-19 halftime advantage. The Freddies would make a push though in the second half of play, outscoring Northmor in the third, 16-11. With the lead down to 10 points, Northmor only mustered six points in the final quarter of play but were able to limit the Freddies to just eight to secure the win and keep their conference championship hopes alive.

Northmor is still tied for first place with the Cardington Pirates with both teams possessing 9-3 records in the league. Centerburg and Highland still have a chance at the crown at 8-4 in the MOAC Blue. Mount Gilead still has an outside chance to make a run for the top with a conference record of 7-5. The Golden Knights still have to play Mount Gilead (home, 02/13) and Highland (on the road, 02/16) to finish off their regular season.

Alijah Keen led the way for head coach Zach Ruth on Friday against the Freddies. Keen scored a team-high 12 points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out an assist, recorded a steal and two blocks. Brock Pletcher also finished in double figures, scoring 11 points to go with a rebound, three assists and three steals. Kyle Kegley chipped in 10 points in the win, along with five rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block. Meechie Johnson had nine points for the Knights and three rebounds, steals and assists. Tyler Kegley had five points, eight boards and an assist. Zach Parrott finished up the Northmor attack with four points, four rebounds, an assist and three steals.

As a team, the Golden Knights grabbed 28 rebounds, dished 10 assists, had 15 steals and three blocks while committing just nine turnovers. Northmor shot 18/49 from the field including 5/18 from the perimeter and 10/16 from the free-throw line.

Leighton Cunningham was the only Fredericktown player in double figures, scoring 16 points against the Northmor defense.