NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford protected home court in no conference action on Tuesday night behind a big second quarter against Northmor. The Eagles overcame the Golden Knights, 67-55.
Braxton Baker led all scorers with 26 points on the evening. Baker’s big second quarter where he heated up for 12 points was a game-changer.
“He’s special,” Colonel Crawford head coach David Sheldon said after the win. “He is a self-made kid with the time he puts in the gym.”
Jacoby Maddy began the game by scoring 8 of 14 total points for the Eagles. After a quarter of play, Colonel Crawford led Northmor 14-10.
“We really sat the tone throwing it into him (Maddy), then it opens up for other people,” said Sheldon.
The Eagles (7-3, 4-1 Northern 10) were able to find a bit more offense in the second quarter as Baker added 12 in those eight minutes. The senior was able to finish an and-1, knockdown two three-pointers, and found success in the mid-range game.
“We tried to face guard him, we knew he was going to be tough,” said Northmor head coach Blade Tackett. “Honestly I thought we did pretty good, we forced him into pull-up threes and pull-up jumpers.”
At the half, Grant Bentley led the Golden Knights with five points. Bentley finished with 12 points against the Eagles.
The two teams played an even third quarter which came to an end with the Eagles leading 48-35. Jaxson Wenger and Bentley combined for 12 points in the quarter to keep Northmor in it. Trevor Vogt pitched in six points for Colonel Crawford in the third quarter. Vogt’s defense stood out on back-to-back steals.
“We got good shooters on our team. I think they shot with confidence. We had to play a little bit faster and we got open looks in transition,” Tackett said of the second-half improvements. “They’re hard to score on in the half-court with their size and length.”
Wenger led a last-quarter comeback attempt for the Golden Knights (6-5, 4-2 Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference) by adding eight points in the last eight minutes to finish with a team-high 20 points. Hunter Fulk knocked down three three-pointers on his way to 13 points on Tuesday.
“They have three guards that are dynamite. All three of them averaging double figures and we just tried to contain them,” Sheldon stated.
Jacob Maddy had 16 strong points for Colonel Crawford, while Vogt pitched in 11. Derek Horsley chipped in eight points.
Colonel Crawford hosts Upper Sandusky on Saturday in conference play, while Northmor will be off until next Tuesday when they play Centerburg at home.
