Robert Smith
FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross feels like his team is improving despite a 77-73 loss on Saturday to Pendleton Heights in Larry Moore Gymnasium.
“I felt like we got better tonight,” Ross said of his Class 2A No. 4 ranked team. “We’ll learn from this game. We’re 1-2 over the last two weeks, but I feel like we’re getting better.”
The Arabians (10-5) along with the other recent Northeastern opponents, Knightstown (7-6) and Crispus Attucks (12-3), are a combined 29-14.
However, a poor start on Saturday did have the Knights (10-3) in trouble as they trailed 19-1 with 1:26 left in the opening quarter.
“These games are good for us to learn from,” said Northeastern’s Robert Smith, who finished with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. “If we come out flat, then they will drill us.”
Northeastern finished the frame with seven straight points and the Class 4A Arabians led 19-8.
“I thought we had weathered the storm,” Ross said. “We just couldn’t get a shot to fall.”
“We finally got a few to go and we finally started playing at our pace a little bit,” Ross continued. “You can’t press unless you score. We needed to score to set up our pressure.”
At that point, the Knights were able to stay in the game, but they were behind 40-29 at halftime.
“I can’t be more proud of how we came out in the second half,” Ross said. “Then it was a ball game.”
Northeastern began the third period with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 42-41 after Robert Smith hit 1-of-2 free throws at the 3:15 mark.
Nate Reynolds
Pendleton Heights answered with six straight to up its advantage to 48-41 with 2:20 left, but by the end of the stanza, Northeastern’s Nate Reynolds drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Knights closer again at 52-50.
In the final quarter, Northeastern got as close as 57-55 when Robert Smith hit a pair of free throws with 6:39 remaining in the contest, but the Arabians were able to maintain their distance and hold on for the victory.
Tyler Smith led the Knights with 31 points and four assists. He is now just one assist away from becoming Northeastern’s career leader. Reece Watt is the current leader with 282, which was established in 1983-84 season.
Reynolds and Bailey Stewart tossed in 12 points each for the Knights.
Quinton West led the Northeastern JV team with 11 points as the Knights fell 60-37. Blake Hancock added nine points and six rebounds, Gabe Beatty finished with eight points while Alex Reynolds had four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Northeastern entertains Class 3A Rushville on Tuesday.
Bailey Stewart
Tyler Smith
The 1,000-point milestone
Tyler Smith and Stewart are both closing in on the 1,000-career point mark.
Stewart, a transfer from National Trail in Ohio, has 943 points in his career. Smith has 940.
Northeastern has five members of the 1,000-point club in its history with Cory Ryan topping the list at 1,445 points from 1995-1999.
Northeastern Boys Basketball
Career Scoring Leaders
1. Cory Ryan (1995-1999) 1,445
2. Daryl Lane (1967-1970) 1,239
3. Brent Ross (1983-1987) 1,116
4. Cory Ross (1999-2003) 1,106
5. Ryan Kaufman (1998-2002) 1,067
6. Kevin Toschlog (2004-2008) 952
7. Tyler Smith (2012-2015) 940
8. Grant Esposito (2011-2015) 866
9. Mark Fowler (1997-2000) 825
10. Bill Garrison (1986-1989) 770
Box Score
PENDLETON HEIGHTS (10-5) – Mark Albers 8 6-7 27, Kenton Dunham 4 6-8 16, Trent Miller 5 0-0 13, Max Grbic 0 0-0 0, Brandon Helpling 1 2-2 4, Eli Pancol 2 4-8 8, Elston Stull 3 0-1 6, Grant Hammons 1 0-0 3, Alex Theohares 0 0-0 0. Team – 22 18-26 77.
NORTHEASTERN (10-3) – Tyler Smith 10 9-12 31, Bailey Stewart 4 4-6 12 12, Robert Smith 7 10-13 18, Nate Reynolds 4 0-0 12, Harrison Rice 0 0-0 0, DaShawn Hampton 0 0-0 0, Austin Clay 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Mikesell 0 0-0 0, Jalen Hillard 0 0-0 0, Quinton West 0 0-0 0. Team – 22 23-31 73.
Pendleton Hgts. 19 40 52 77
Northeastern 8 29 50 73
3-pointers – Pendleton Heights 11 (Albers 5, Miller 3, Dunham 2, Hammons 1), Northeastern 6 (Reynolds 4, T. Smith 2). Rebounds – Pendelton 31 (Pancol 7), Northeastern 30 (R. Smith 15). Turnovers – Pendleton Heights 9, Northeastern 7. Fouls – Pendleton Heights 23, Northeastern 22.