Jordan Stolle
CENTERVILLE, Ind. – Northeastern defeated Centerville in boys basketball action on Friday night as the two teams opened their Tri-Eastern Conference slate.
“It’s a big win on the road,” Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the seniors and juniors. They’ve never lost here.”
The No. 12 Knights (2-1, 1-0) have won 30 TEC games in a row and 47 straight overall against league foes, which includes non-conference contests.
Northeastern led 18-6 after one period before the Bulldogs were able to close the gap to 22-19 by halftime.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Ross said. “We thought we could get to the free throw line.”
Centerville Head Coach Seve Beach was pleased with his team’s performance in the second quarter.
“We finally got shots to fall,” Beach said. “We played a solid defensive quarter and held them to four points.”
Ross agreed as the Knights hoped to increase the game’s tempo.
“Our defense is pretty solid,” Ross said. “It’s hard to score against us. When we tried that in the second quarter, they made a run. We didn’t hold our composure very well during that stretch.”
After Jordan Stolle converted a pair of free throws to begin the second frame, Northeastern was on top 20-6.
Centerville scored 13 straight points to make it 20-19 just before the intermission.
Dalton Stevens hit a 3-pointer and then Austin Farlow drilled a pair of treys, while Justin DuPree added a pair of buckets to end the run.
In the third quarter, the Knights were able to build a 33-24 advantage as they maintained their composure according to Ross.
“In the second half, I thought we did a pretty good job,” the Knight coach said.
For the Bulldogs, their offensive performance was the difference.
“Defensively, we were good enough to win,” Beach said. “The difference in the game was we go 0-for-0 at the free throw line and they go 17-of-20. We didn’t attack like we did last Saturday (against Seton) when we shot 30 free throws. We were just too passive.”
Stolle led the Knights with 20 points, which included all nine of his free throws. Freeman Brou added 12 points.
Jalen Hillard finished with seven points Stolle, Brou and Cole Mikesell all grabbed four rebounds.
Stevens led Centerville with 12 points and DuPree had 10. Michael Brewer tossed in seven points.
Centerville (1-2, 0-1) entertains Franklin County (1-1) on Saturday, while Northeastern (2-1, 1-0) travels to Eastern Hancock (2-0) next Friday.