With North Union head coach Ryan Grose looking on in the background, Max Parish shoots a free throw that put him at the 1,000-point milestone for his career. The Wildcats, however, fell to Indian Lake.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman)
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The ending was not what North Union senior Max Parish would have liked, but he still had a big accomplishment to be remembered.
Midway through the first quarter of Friday’s home Central Buckeye Conference basketball against Indian Lake, Parish swished a free throw for his 1,000th career point.
“I actually thought it would be an air ball,” Parish said of the charity toss. “It was a great it happened on Senior Night.”
“Max has had a heck of career,” North Union head coach Ryan Grose said. “He is able to score points in many different ways.”
Parish joins Evan Jamison, Ben Snively, Brandon Allen and Ronnie Rayburn as North Union’s boys 1,000-point scorers.
Parish and his Wildcat teammates, however, were not able to completely enjoy the night as Indian Lake won, 73-62.
“The game did not go our way,” Parish said. “But games like these will help us get prepared for the tournament.”
North Union had some success in the first half.
However, a 17-3 run by the Lakers during the second quarter forced the Wildcats into comeback-mode the rest of the way.
“Indian Lake is very good in transition,” Grose said. “We didn’t execute on the defensive end.”
After netting his history-making free throw, Parish added another charity toss to give North Union a 10-7 lead with three minutes left in the opening quarter.
The Wildcats maintained their three-point cushion at 12-9 on a Parish drive to the basket.
Indian Lake, though, held a 16-14 edge at the end of the stanza.
An inside basket by Rylan Keever two minutes into the second quarter tied the game at 20.
Indian Lake then scored eight straight points for a 28-20 advantage with 3:41 left in the first half.
Nolan Draper stopped the scoring run with a three-point goal.
Indian Lake, though, got right back on track with a nine-point spurt that bumped the lead to 37-23.
Miles Hall netted two free throws and Parish had one in the final minute as the Wildcats trailed 37-26 at the half.
The Wildcats scored on four of their first five possessions in the third quarter.
The Lakers answered back and led 46-32 following a three-point goal from Camdon Tuttle.
Hall started a seven-point spurt for the Wildcats.
That was followed by a drive-for-two by Parish and two free throws from Tyler Krebehenne as they trailed 46-39 with 4:25 remaining.
An inside basket by Parish kept the margin at seven (48-41) and a three-point play from Nickolas Hajjar with just over two minutes left sliced the lead to 50-44.
Helped by a three-point goal by Caiden Nicol, the Lakers led 55-44 with one quarter to play.
A three-point play from Hall midway through the final frame left NU trailing 61-50.
Indian Lake bumped the lead to 65-50.
The Wildcats made one final run as Hall hit a three-pointer and Parish dropped in two free throws to make it 65-55.
The Lakers held off any further damage and finished unbeaten in CBC play (10-0). They have an overall mark of 17-5.
North Union finished 7-3 in the CBC and is 16-5 overall.
NU has one regular-season game left as it travels to Elgin on Wednesday.
The Wildcats will begin tournament play on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at home against Mount Gilead.
“We will get back at it on Monday,” Grose said. “We are going to prepare for our final regular season game and then the tournament.”
Other seniors honored on Senior Night were Draper, Keever and Mason Bright.
Hall led all scorers with 25 points, which included four three-point field goals. Parish also hit double figures with 15 while Draper added 11.
Nicol paced Indian Lake with 22 points.
North Union won the junior varsity game 55-48.
Trenor Kyle led the Wildcats with 17 points, while Jaxon Jolliff and Josiah Stover each had 11.
Indian Lake
Reisinger 4-0-8, Hall 4-0-11, Nicol 9-3-22, Tucci 1-0-2, Pequignot 1-0-2, Tuttle 7-3-20, Finfrock 1-0-2, Murphy 3-0-6. Three-point goals: Hall 3, Tuttle 3, Nicol.
North Union
Draper 4-2-11, Keever 1-0-2, Parish 4-7-15, Hajjar 1-1-3, Krebehenne 2-2-6, Hall 9-3-25. Three-point goals: Hall 4, Draper.