The Northwestern boys basketball team came into the season with a new look following heavy graduation losses, but it showed Saturday night that it still knows how to win championships.
Northwestern led nearly wire to wire in beating Western 54-47 in the Howard County Tournament championship, giving the host squad its third straight HCT title and 20th overall.
“It feels awesome,” Northwestern senior Jimmy McKee said. “Ever since seventh grade, our class has won this. It means a lot to us. It feels really good to come in, play our biggest rival and win especially since they beat us by a little bit [60-58 in a Mid-Indiana Conference game on Dec. 5]. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it.”
McKee, a 6-foot-6 center, punished the Panthers inside to the tune of a career-high 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds — including eight on the offensive end.
“Jimmy McKee stepped up big. He went to the glass hard,” Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. “He is a senior this year and he had to wait for his time. The hardest thing to do in athletics or life is wait because we live in a world of instant gratification. But good things happen to people who wait. He was a huge part of why we get to cut nets down because in the third quarter, when we weren’t having a lot of success against their zone, he just went to the glass and took it to them.”
McKee scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the second half to help the Tigers pull away from a halftime tie.
Winners of four straight, the Tigers improved to 5-3. The Panthers dropped to 6-4.
Northwestern scored the first five points of the game and held a 13-4 lead after dominating the first 10 minutes of the game. Western followed with a 12-3 run to forge a 16-all halftime tie. Darrian Greene drilled three 3-pointers to fuel the Panthers’ rally.
McKee opened the second half with a post basket to put the Tigers back in the lead and they kept it the rest of the way. They sprinted to a 30-20 advantage midway through the third quarter. The Panthers closed to within 32-29, but Kylan Dubbels hit a mid-range jumper to put the Tigers ahead 34-29 going into the final stanza.
Western closed to within three, 39-36, with 5:00 remaining, but McKee grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a putback basket to start a 7-0 run that made it 46-36 at 2:25. Western missed four shots and committed a turnover during its dry spell.
Western came no closer than six the rest of the way. Northwestern players Nolan Sanders and Zech Sanders combined to hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute to help seal the win.
Led by McKee, the Tigers finished with a decisive 33-23 advantage on the boards.
“Give Northwestern all the credit — consistently throughout the game, they went after loose balls, hustle plays and rebounds. They had more will to rebound, especially the beginning of each half,” Western coach Andy Weaver said.
Brayden Merrell netted 15 points to share Tiger-high honors with McKee. The Tigers received strong bench play with post player Jared Treadway offering five points and three boards and Dubbels providing four points and good floor play.
“This is one of the few years I have no [hesitation in] going to that bench and putting people in because I feel we don’t drop off,” Gish said, noting he thinks the Tigers are 10 deep when fully healthy. “One thing they bring off the bench is the intensity we need.”
Greene hit five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points for the Panthers, who otherwise looked stagnant on offense. Wes White scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.
“We have to come back and really work on some things offensively and execute a little bit better. Our screening and cutting was not where it was a week ago,” Weaver said. “Fortunately for us, Greene caught a hot hand there in the second quarter to allow us to get tied, but we struggled for some other offense.”
Weaver noted the Panthers struggled defensively too.
“When we needed some stops in our man, we got beat our some dribble penetration. They did a good job of getting the ball to McKee or Treadway for some easy buckets inside and those guys obviously hurt us on the boards,” he said.
“They earned the victory.”
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Tigers keep crown
New-look Northwestern wins 3rd straight HCT title
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