Preston Crabtree (23) drives for a North Union basket on Friday at Johnstown. He led NU with 15 points. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
Boys basketball teams from Union and Licking counties once again did battle for Divison III District supremacy on Friday.
Unfortunately for North Union, this year’s result ended like a year ago with a 58-49 loss to Johnstown.
The two teams tangled at Ohio Dominican University with the D-III District crown on the line during the 2019-20 campaign.
The Johnnies won that contest, 49-46.
Going into Friday’s game at Johnstown, folks had to wonder…. could the Wildcats exact a measure of revenge?
The ultimate answer was no.
North Union got off to a strong start as post player Zach Vernon threw in a trio of early buckets.
Preston Crabtree added a traditional three-point play as the Cats climbed to a 9-2 lead.
The Johnnies rallied with the help of a pair of trifectas from Jake Lusk.
His second three-ball pushed Johnstown out to a 12-9 lead.
NU’s Nolan Draper buried a three-ball to knot the score at 12.
Johnstown turned the ball over during the waning seconds of the opening quarter.
Aaron Krebehenne of North Union let fly with a trey at the horn.
The offering, though, failed to find the mark.
The second quarter told a big story of the contest.
Rare were the Johnstown shots that didn’t find the bucket.
Johnstown took a 14-12 edge early in the second period.
Vernon then knotted the game at 14-all.
At that point, the Johnnies went crazy from behind the three-point mark.
Tyler Cox got things going with a trey that broke the stalemate.
Lusk buried another as the home team began to take control.
The Wildcats found themselves down, 26-16, with 3:39 left in the second set.
Trevyn Feasel drilled a three-ball, slicing NU’s deficit to 26-19.
The Johnnies’ margin climbed to 29-19 on a trey by Caleb Schneider.
Lusk tickled the twine for a three-ball.
He then drilled a pass to Gavin Foe for a bucket that elevated the Johnnies’ margin to 36-20.
Feasel drove the lane for a layup that narrowed NU’s halftime gap to 36-22.
“They normally don’t shoot like that,” said NU coach Brian Terrill. “They shot the ball out of their minds.
“If they shoot like that in the regional tournament, they will be tough to beat.”
Things appeared to really get out of hand during the third stanza.
The Johnnies jumped out to a 42-24 lead three minutes into the quarter.
However, if members of the Johnnies Nation thought the Wildcats were going to wave the white flag of surrender, they had another thing coming.
NU kept up the battle by going on a 12-2 burst to end the third set.
Crabtree swished a three-ball during the streak.
He then converted a steal into a basket.
That shot pulled NU to within 44-36 at the end of the quarter.
Cox hit a trey that upped the Johnnies’ spread to 47-36 to begin the fourth stanza.
Krebehenne’s shot from beyond the arc pulled North Union to within 47-39.
The Wildcats stayed with striking distance (getting as close as seven) for the next several minutes.
Johnstown, though saw its lead go back over double digits at 53-42.
The teams swapped empty possessions as the clock raced to nearly the two-minute mark.
Johnstown increased its lead with a few free throws.
NU also had to burn timeouts against the Johnnies’ defensive pressure.
The Cats’ final TO came with 1:33 to play.
Meanwhile, the Johnnies were left with three.
The final minute of the game was marked by an unusual occurance.
Lusk was fouled by Vernon.
The Johnstown cager was so upset by the foul for some reason that he was hit with a technical foul.
Lusk hit both ends of the one-and-one for a 57-44 Johnnies’ spread.
Vernon sank both T charity tosses, narrowing NU’s gap to 57-46.
The Johnnies were later fouled and went into the double bonus.
Lusk sank a free throw for a 58-46 Johnstown advantage.
Crabtree was fouled on a trifeca attempt and was on the mark with all three charity tosses
In doing so, he pulled NU to within 58-49.
Johnstown then ran out the clock for the win and its second consecutive district championship.
“We cut it to I think seven a time or two, so our guys never gave up,” said Terrill. “That’s how our team played all year.”
Crabtree led NU (which finished with a record of 19-4) with 15 points.
He was joined in double figures by Vernon (14) and Feasel (10).
Also putting points on the board for NU were Krebehenne (five), Draper (three) and Hudson Davis (two).
Lusk led Johnstown with 21.
He was followed by Foe-16, Cox-12, Schneider-seven and Josh Potter-two.
Zach Vernon of North Union goes to the basket while a Johnstown opponent tries to draw an offensive foul. Vernon scored 14 points during NU’s loss in the Division III district title game. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)