LIZTON – Devon Zachary led North Montgomery with 11 points
and Baylee Adams chipped in 10, but it wasn’t enough as the Chargers fell to
Tri-West 63-55 in a very physical Sagamore Conference game.
With the win, the Bruins, who improved to 14-6, 6-1 SAC, gained
a share of their first ever Conference title along with co-champions Danville
and Lebanon.
Things started well for North as they lead 11-8 midway
through the first. However, a 13-0 Bruin run that saw Tri-West’s Tyler Watson
score nine, of his game high 23, gave them a 21-11 lead.
The Chargers went on a 6:40 scoring drought before their
first field goal in the second quarter, a jumper by Adams, to cut the lead to
23-14.
North was able to close the gap to two at halftime, on a
deep three from Jordan Lewis trail just 29-27.
“We let Watson get going in the first half, where he hit
four threes in the first quarter,” Charger coach Joel Grindle said. “After that
we did a really nice job on him and limited his touches.”
The Bruins came out of the locker room and went on an 8-0
run to open it up to a 10-point lead. North Montgomery didn’t score their first
field goal of the second half until 3:30 to go in the third.
They would never get closer than five the remainder of the
way, as the Bruins connected on 11 of their 15 fourth quarter free throws to
ice it in a very physical fourth quarter.
“When you have six and five minute scoring droughts against
a good team, at their place, and knowing they have a chance to win conference,
you make it really tough to win the game,” Grindle said. “However, I was proud
of the way our kids battled back and kept their composure.”
Tri-West, who played the game without their second leading
scorer, Peyton Hendershot, who was serving a one game suspension, was led by
Watson’s 23. Cameron Cole chipped in 12 for Tri-West while Jake Hill pulled
down a game high 11 boards.
North Montgomery (14-7, 4-3) shot just four free throws to
the Bruins 23. They were outrebounded 34-28, and only shot 37 percent from the
floor. Adams led them with 7 boards.
“We played with a lot of intensity,” said Grindle. “In a
game like this, that’s very physical, and gets chippy, I’m proud of our kids
for keeping their heads.”
The Chargers will celebrate senior night next Friday as they
host Greencastle at 7:30 p.m.
In the meantime, they’ll hit the drawing board, knowing they
could see the Bruins again in the sectional.
“We need to get 10 points better in two weeks,” he said. “I
think it will go through Tri-West.”