Northeast edges Central in back and forth thriller

The rust from missing two days of practice probably showed up a little from both teams, but Northeast took advantage of Central being in serious first half foul trouble to get a 51-48 win Saturday afternoon at Central.

Northeast built a nine point half-time lead and then lost it in the third in the third quarter, but Cameron Cherry came alive in the final quarter to lead Northeast to the win.

Central had beaten Northeast earlier this year by three points.

Four who mattered

Cherry: The Northeast sophomore scored 18 points, with 13 coming in the fourth quarter. He scored nine of the first 10 points in the quarter to play a key part in the win.

Darius Dunn: The junior guard scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half to help Northeast build a 26-17. He, along with Tyree Gilbert, who ended with 11 points, controlled the action in the second quarter when Central had to sit three starters who were in foul trouble.

Kylan Hill: Central’s leading scorer did not score in the first half and sat most all of the second quarter with two fouls, but come back in the second half to score ten point to help get Central back in the game.

Tymir Robinson: The senior spear-headed Central’s third quarter comeback, scoring seven of his 14 points in the quarter, but picked up his fourth foul late in the third quarter and did not score the rest of the game.

Observation

Rusty shooters: Both teams were unable to practice on Wednesday or Thursday due to the weather and that showed at the free throw line. Northeast made of 15-of-34 from the line, and down the stretch in the fourth quarter, they made only 2-of-6. Central, however, was even worse, converting only 7-of- 21 free throws for the game and 3-of-9 in the fourth quarter.

Turning point

Central stormed out of the gate in the third quarter and grabbed a three point lead late in the third quarter and seemingly had all the momentum. But Northeast weathered the storm, and behind Cherry’s big fourth quarter, they were able to get the win.

They said it

Northeast head coach Kevin Grooms on the win: “Central and Northeast is always going to be a big game because of the cross-town rivalry and this one was no different. I was proud of these guys because we were able to keep our mental focus when things got difficult.”

Grooms on losing the lead in the third quarter: “We knew they would come out strong in the third quarter because they would have their starters back in. I was proud of the fact that we didn’t panic when we lost the lead. Cameron Cherry is only a sophomore but we expect him to hit the big shots like he did in this game.”

What’s next?

Central (13-5) meets up with Rutland on Tuesday while Northeast (15-8) plays Dublin on Tuesday.

This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Northeast edges Central in back and forth thriller."