(December 18th, 2014) – FAYETTE: The North Central Boys Basketball team has yet to win a game this season. That is very misleading. The Eagles are a quality basketball team, with depth being their biggest issue. Still, on any given night, they can take most teams in the area to the brink.
Just ask Fayette.
The Eagles nested in Fulton county are considered to be among the best of the Buckeye Border Conference (BBC) for 2014-15 season. They have size, depth, shooting, and athleticism in spades on their roster. Yet, on Thursday, North Central closed the third quarter at Fayette with a 1 point lead, 37-36.
Fayette answered the challenge, though, racking up 20 points in the final quarter of play to North Central’s 10, giving the hometown Eagles a 56-47 victory.
Jared Seiler had a lot to do with that. Of his 7 field goals in the contest, 4 of them came in the fourth period as the Fayette player totaled 17 points in the win. Teammate Koby Biddix put up 13 points of his own, while senior Skylar Lantz contributed 9 points to the victory as well.
North Central’s own run in the game was led by the senior duo of Jordan Bailey and Jordan Reeves. Bailey hit 5 threes on his way to 18 points, making him the highest scoring player in the game. Reeves himself connected on 3 shots from long range, as he made 16 points against the Fayette boys.
The downside to the high amount of three-point attempts is that it led to very few opportunities from the free throw line. North Central went 4 for 7 from the line, good for a 57% success rate. Compared to Fayette, who made 12 of their 20 attempts, and it’s easy to how the more eastern based Eagles were able to win this game.
Turnovers weren’t much of a factor in the contest. Both sides gave the ball up just 11 times. As both squads have a solid nucleus of veteran players, that’s to be expected.
The Eagles of North Central played well enough to win against a team some might consider the class of the BBC. Don’t be deceived by their 0-4 record, that team in Pioneer is pretty good.