Knights tame Greencastle by 22

BRAZIL -- Still amped from a thrilling victory Saturday night, the Knights of Northview rode a dominant second half to a 56-34 rout of Greencastle.

After a fairly even first half, Northview (5-12) grabbed the momentum heading into the locker room as Johnathan Bradshaw capped a 10-point first half with a last-second put in, giving the Knights a 27-22 lead at the half.

The momentum shift carried over into the third as Northview scored six quick points on their way to building a 17-point lead.

Knights coach Ernie Maesch said he felt his team was playing his best basketball of the season, and it showed with a solid effort Tuesday night.

"We had a lot of momentum coming into this game and it showed," Maesch, whose team earned a 44-43 upset win over Monrovia on Saturday, said. "We played very disciplined and hard nosed and got what we wanted out of (tonight's game)."

Greencastle (5-11) attempted to make a game of things, pulling as close as nine with an 8-0 run in the third and fourth quarter. However, the spurt ended abruptly for the Tiger Cubs when Northview's Caleb Mershon knocked down a three, then scored off a turnover on successive possessions, killing any hopes Greencastle had of a rally.

Afterward, a visibly dejected Greencastle coach Troy Greenlee struggled to put his frustration into words.

"I thought we were flat the entire game," Greenlee said. "I don't know why we came out so lethargic, but we didn't have any fire. It's very disappointing."

Bradshaw and Dillon Reynolds led a very balanced Northview offensive attack with 14 points apiece, while Chance Talbot proved to be a force on the boards, snagging eight rebounds.

On the Greencastle side, Jordan Hickam led the way with seven points, while Nick Hutcheson tied for a game-high eight boards.

While the record remains unimpressive, Maesch said his team is peaking at the right time, and he is finally starting to see the results he hoped for at the beginning of the season.

"We are playing very well as a team right now," Maesch said. "The guys are feeding off each other and I can see the kids confidence is high right now."

Conversely, Greenlee was left looking for ways to motivate a team whose poor effort left him "dumbfounded."

"We're going to just have to go back and go over basic stuff," Greenlee said. "Three games left in the season isn't a time you usually don't want to be trying to figure stuff out, but we have got to figure out who really wants to play."

Much like the varsity after them, the Northview JV team blew open a fairly competitive contest with a dominant second half, in which they outscored Greencastle by an 18-2 tally, en route to a 53-28 win. Braden Parr led the way for the Knights with 19 points, while Zach Hull added 16.

For Greencastle, Joe Lenihan and Trevor Huber led the way with eight and seven points respectively.

At Northview

GHS 9 13 8 4 -- 34

Northview 11 16 14 15 -- 56

Greencastle (34)

Moore 1 0-0 2, Haussin 0 0-0 0, Huber 1 0-0 3, Embry 2 0-0 5, Hickam 3 1-2 7, Stuckwisch 1 0-0 3, Lewis 1 2-2 4, Hennette 2 0-0 4, Hutcheson 3 0-0 6

Northview (56)

Hyatt 3 0-0 6, Parr 1 1-1 3, Talbot 2 2-5 6, Reynolds 6 0-0 14, Mershon 4 0-0 11, Rohr 1 0-0 2, Bradshaw 7 0-0 14

3-point field goals -- GC 3-15 (Haussin 0-2, Huber 1-2, Embry 1-3, Hickam 0-4, Stuckwisch 1-3, Lewis 0-1), NV 5-11 (Hyatt 0-1, Reynolds 2-4, Mershon 3-6).