Red Oak, NC
Northern Nash (16-4, 4-2) has been looking to avenge their loss to Wilson Hunt (12-6, 4-1) since they met back on January 10th. Many Northern Nash fans wondered what team would show up Tuesday night. Shakai Harris for Hunt started out with a 3 point basket and early on it looked as if this would be a game controlled by Hunt. Later in the 1st, Cole Davis shot a 3 to take the lead for Northern and he would add two more 3’s to help Northern end the 1st quarter with the score 15-5.
In the 2nd quarter, Northern changed up a little and did a few things differently that didn’t translate as well as they hoped. For Hunt, that was all they needed and they ended up coming back and tying it by halftime. In the third quarter it would be back and forth between the two teams. Hunt went on a run in the 3rd, but Northern had a run and was able to tie it at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Northern Nash was able to get a lead in the 4th and had their chances to close it out in regulation. Coach Drake said, “One of the things I’m telling my guys is we have to be aware of situational basketball.” Northern had a chance to put Hunt on the free throw line and make them earn by shooting free throws. Coach Taylor for Hunt called a timeout and this allowed Hunt to put a run together to force overtime.
Before overtime, Coach Drake told his guys, “It’s simple basketball, we need to run our offense and Hunt is going to look for fouls. We need to focus and concentrate.”
In overtime, it was a back and forth game, but Northern Nash was able to find the 3 again to help create momentum. Hunt fouled with about 16 seconds left and sent Kameron Johnson to the line for the game winning free throw.
Coach Drake explained that this was a good win for his team – a win they desperately needed after losing to Rocky Mount.
The next game for Northern Nash is Friday January 31st against Southern Nash. When asked for his thoughts on the matchup, Coach Drake said, “We have just got to stay focused. This part of the season there are teams that don’t have anything to play for. We are in the playoffs and we want to win the Big East Championship.”
ENC Sports Review 