Trevyn Feasel of North Union goes for a layup with an Elgin defender in tow. Feasel tallied 12 points during the Wildcats’ 51-40 win over the Comets. The victory increased the Wildcats’ record to 12-10.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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North Union’s boys hoop squad finished its regular season strong Wednesday night with a 51-40 win over neighboring Elgin.
The Wildcats, who piled on the wins in the second half of the season (6-4), struggled to play at their normal tempo early against the Comets.
“I think the biggest thing was that we played better in the second half,” said North Union coach Brian Terrill. “We didn’t have our normal energy levels to start the game.
“They (Elgin) did a really good job of keeping the game slow.”
The Wildcats attempted to work around the Comets’ 2-3 zone that was able to keep the paint clean by double and triple-teaming the low post.
Despite Elgin’s slow-paced defense, the Wildcats were able to get on the board on jumpers from Harley Day and Preston Crabtree.
Joel Krebehenne and Kolden Wiley also moved the scoreboard to give the Cats 12 points at the end of the first, set.
A last-second three, however, gave Elgin a 13-12 edge.
NNU made some defensive adjustments between the quarters and switched from man coverage to a 2-3 zone.
The adjustment kept the Comets in check, while the Wildcats worked on keeping the game tight.
Crabtree added a trey, while NU got the first shot at the free throw line after some drives to the bucket by Connor Terrill and Zach Vernon.
Each went two-for-two to keep the game deadlocked.
The defensive shift was able to later give NU just enough to take a 23-21 lead into the locker room.
“We made some shots in the second quarter to keep it close and when we came out in the third quarter,” said Terrill. “I thought the defense helped start our offense.”
The Cats switched to a 1-3-1 defense that closed out Elgin’s shooters on the wings.
Day was able to keep the ball out of the low post with the change.
The switch didn’t only benefit on the defensive end of the floor, but also on NU’s offensive push.
“The offense that we went to provides an edge option on the drive and we had two or three of shots,” said Terrill. “We had one three and basically changed the way they had to defend us because it is an unorthodox offense that people are not used to seeing it.”
The diffent offense gave Krebehenne and Connor Terrill some wide-open looks from beyond the arc.
As a result, NU climbed to a 31-21 lead.
Elgin answered with back-to-back treys to reel the Wildcats back to within 31-27.
NU answered with Day as he found some lanes down the paint for two buckets that wrapped up his 10-point game.
The Wildcats used their 1-3-1 to help keep the Comets off the boards, while they looked to Trevyn Feasel to bring home the victory.
Feasel drove the baseline from the wing to pick up four buckets and two points from the line to help NU notch its 12 win of he season.
The Wildcats will now move on to the Division III post season when they host East Knox on Monday at 7 p.m.
Terrill the two teams are practically identical.
“They are similar to us,” he said. “They have a couple of primary players.
“They are going to mix up man and zone,” he said. “They’ve got about the same record as us and it’s literally a 50-50 game.
“This is like an eight-nine game in the NCAA. I’m just glad it is home.”
North Union
Crabtree 6-0-13, Feasel 5-2-12, Day 5-0-10, Terrill 1-2-5, Krebehenne 2-0-5, Vernon 1-2-4, Wiley 1-0-2. Totals 21-6-51.
Three-point goals: Crabtree 1, Terrill 1
Elgin
Miller 2-5-9, Hook 4-0-9, Goddard 2-2-8, Backens 3-2-8, Brown 2-0-5, Sager 0-1-1. Totals 13-10-40.
Three-point goals: Goddard 2, Hook 1, Brown 1