GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS — On Tuesday, February 13, the Northmor Golden Knights boys hoops squad continued their road their five-game road trip with a trek to Grandview Heights to face-off in non-league action against the hosting Bobcats. Note: Both the Golden Knights and the Bobcats have been placed in the Division III, Columbus I District bracket for the upcoming sectional/district tournament. Northmor received a five seed while Grandview Heights was awarded the seven seed. That being said, these two squads could potentially meet in the district final on Friday, March 9 at Ohio Dominican University.
Northmor was able to continue their winning streak, now at five games since their loss at St. Peter’s on Saturday, January 27, by defeating the hosts; 61-48. Overall on the season, the Knights now sit at 19-1 and have been crowned as the inaugural Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference champions with a 12-0 league mark.
After the first quarter of play on Tuesday evening, the score was knotted up at 17 points apiece. In the second, Northmor was able to push ahead, albeit slightly, to head into the intermission up by a tally of 28-26. Another neck and neck quarter in the third saw both teams tacking on 15 points to make it 43-41 headed into the final eight minutes of regulation. The fourth would be where Northmor showed their true grit on the defensive end, allowing the Bobcats to score just seven points while pouring in 17 points on the offensive end to secure the 13-point victory.
For the contest, the visitors would have three players reach the double figure mark in scoring, led by senior Brock Pletcher’s 19 points. Pletcher also contributed two rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win. Meechie Johnson netted 17 points on the night to go along with one rebound, four assists and a steal. Rounding out the 10+ point club members was Tyler Kegley. Kegley scored a dozen against the Bobcats and would also grab four boards, dish two assists, record two steals and swat away two blocked shots.
Other stats for the Golden Knights were: Team- 24/41 total field goals, 20/32 from the interior, 4/9 from the perimeter, 9/9 at the free-throw line, 20 total rebounds (5O, 15D), 11 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks and 14 turnovers; Kyle Kegley- 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks; Blake Miller- 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and Lane Bachelder- 2 rebounds, 1 steal.
Grandview Heights had two players combine for 38 of their 48 points on the evening. Brian Collier netted 23 against the Northmor “D” while teammate Luck Lachey chimed in with 15 points in the loss.
As a team, the Bobcats shot 20/43 from the field, including 5/16 from three-point range. The home team was just 3/6 from the line, recorded 21 total rebounds (9O, 12D), dished out 10 assists, swiped eight steals, blocked three shots and committed 15 turnovers.
The road trip and KMAC play will continue for Northmor on Friday, February 16 with a trip to Sparta to face the Highland Fighting Scots. On Wednesday, February 21, the Knights will head to Fredericktown for their makeup game against the hosting Freddies.
