Miles Hall of North Union, left, drives to the basket against Centerburg. The Wildcats won two games over the weekend.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman)
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Coming off a big Central Buckeye Conference win on Friday, North Union made it a clean-sweep weekend with a thrilling 58-56 win over Centerburg on Saturday at North Union.
Max Parish connected on two free throws with 12.9 seconds seconds left to give the Wildcats their 15th win in 18 games.
Centerburg had taken a 56-54 lead with 1:48 left on a layup by Isaiah Sule.
Mason Bright dropped in a baseline jumper to tie the game with one minute remaining.
The Wildcats had to fight through some fatigue from playing the night before, but junior Miles Hall said the team was able to get through it.
“There was some tiredness, but we knew we needed to fight through it for us to get the win,” Hall said.
“It probably was more of challenge for us mentally than physically,” NU head coach Ryan Grose said. “Centerburg pushed the pace and fatigue may have cost us some points. “But I loved our response as we showed poise and toughness.”
There was a lot of back-and-forth early in the first quarter, but the Wildcats scored the 10 points for an 18-10 lead.
Centerburg went the final 4:44 without a point.
Parish started the run with a Rylan Keever-assisted layup. Keever followed with a rebound basket, Parish executed a steal that resulted in a dunk and Bright finished with a pair of baskets in final 19 seconds.
The Trojans came out firing in the second quarter, going on a 14-3 run, sparked by eight points from Bennett Hill.
Two free throws from Trevin Harris pushed Centerburg’s lead to 30-25 midway through the quarter.
North Union battled its way back to trail just by two (33-31) at the half.
The Wildcats held on to the momentum in the early minutes of the third quarter.
A steal by Nolan Draper led to a three-point play and 38-33 lead.
Following two free throws each from Hall and Parish, North Union led 46-38 with 3:23 left in the stanza.
Centerburg rallied to trail 48-46 with one quarter left to play.
Hall scored on a drive to the basket to make it 54-50 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Trojans scored the next six points, setting up an exciting finish.
With four fouls to give before Centerburg could get to the foul line, North Union not only kept the Trojans scoreless with its defense, but did not even let them get a shot at the basket.
Tyler Krebehenne sealed the win with a steal on Centerburg’s final possession.
“We just kept battling to make the right plays,” Grose said.
A look at the final stats show that for the first time this season North Union did not make a three-point field goal.
The Wildcats had been averaging seven made threes per game.
“That shows our growth as a team,” Grose said. “Last year when we didn’t make shots, we struggled.
“We knew no matter what it took we had to get the win,” Hall said.
Parish finished with 16 points, while also hitting double figures were Hall (14) and Bright (11).
Hall also had six assists.
North Union won the junior varsity game 43-33.
Nickolas Hajjar, Josiah Stover and Trace Huff each had eight points for the Wildcats.
North Union
Bright 5-1-11, Draper 3-0-7, Keever 3-0-6, Parish 5-6-16, Krebehenne 2-0-4, Hall 6-2-14.
Centerburg
Scott 2-0-4, Hill 5-0-13, Sule 5-2-13, Harris 9-3-23, Joiner 1-0-3. Three-point goals: Hill 3, Harris 2, Sule, Joiner.
In the game played on Friday at Shawnee, North Union used quick starts in both the first and second half to lead them to victory.
Keyed by two three-point goals by Hall and one from Draper, the Wildcats jumped out to an 11-2 lead.
Shawnee battled back to trail 19-13 by the end of the quarter.
The Braves closed to within 19-17 to start the second period.
A pair of treys from Draper, a drive by Parish and a layup by Keever pushed the Wildcats out to a 29-20 lead midway through the quarter.
When the half ended, North Union took a 36-26 advantage into the locker room.
The Wildcats started the third quarter with a 9-3 run.
Krebehenne got things started with a drive and three-point goal.
A drive by Parish added another two points and Hall’s rebound basket had North Union leading 45-29 at the 4:42 mark.
With just under a minute left, Shawnee closed to within 48-38.
An inside basket by Keever and a layup by Draper gave the Wildcats a 52-38 lead with one quarter left to play.
Bright hit a pair of three-point goals in the fourth quarter for North Union as it sealed the victory.
Draper finished with 18 points, while Hall and Bright each posted 11. Other scorers were Parish (9), Keever (6) and Krebehenne (5).
North Union won the JV contest 31-15. Stover led the way with nine points while Huff netted six points.