(January 15th, 2015) – PIONEER: For three quarters, North Central’s Junior Varsity unit trailed Stryker. Sometimes by a lot, sometimes by a little, but the Eagles were always behind.
Then came the fourth quarter.
It was in that final period that the boys from Pioneer completed their rally against the Panthers. Taking the lead, North Central never relinquished it. The Eagles defeated Stryker 45-40.
The visiting Panthers came on strong right out of the gate. The first quarter belonged to them 15-7. Stryker added to their lead in the second period, taking on 3 more points by outscoring North Central 12-9. That gave the Panther boys a 27-16 edge heading into the locker room.
But the Eagles clawed their way back into the game. They had a huge third period, outperforming the Stryker boys 14-5. Now just down 2 points at 32-30, North Central used that momentum in the fourth and final period. Claiming the quarter by a 15-8 margin, the youthful Pioneer boys earned a dramatic 45-40 victory.
Freshman Cody Tomblin gave North Central a spark, putting up 11 points against Stryker. Fellow Eagle Nathan Traxler scored 7 points, while Josh Roesener and Keean Livensparger each managed 6 points. Josh Bailey added 5 points as well.
Stryker’s Hunter Lilleholm, a second year player, led all scorers with 17 points. Fellow sophomore Hayden Clingaman contributed 8 points in the losing effort. Kaid Woolace put up 6 points also.