Nate Reynolds
Tyler Smith
FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – Games between ranked teams often come down to free throws.
Seton’s Desmond Bane hit 4-of-6 from the line in the final 34 seconds on Saturday night to give his Class 1A No. 6 team a 76-72 victory over Northeastern, Class 2A’s top-ranked squad.
“It was a great ball game and we’re going to learn from this,” Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross said.
“We’ve got to learn how to close out shooters,” Ross added. “We missed on some rotations. Defensively, we’ve got to get better.”
Seton had five of its players in double figures with Bane and Colten Pipenger leading the way with 19 points each.
“It’s hard to guard no matter what defense you put in,” Ross said of Seton’s offensive balance. “I give Seton all of the credit in the world. They knocked down shots.”
The Knights are now 4-1 after their initial loss, while the Cardinals remain unbeaten at 8-0.
“I consider (losses) opportunities to show us our weaknesses,” Ross said. “We had a few things exposed.”
“We’ll comeback and work on some of those weaknesses and get better,” Ross continued. “I’d much rather have a game like this than playing a game that might be a 30-point blowout. I’m proud of them. We fought to the very end.”
Both teams had small leads throughout the contest, but Seton led at each stop.
A critical time for Northeastern came with the Knights leading 64-60, after Tyler Smith scored with 4:44 left to play.
“We just couldn’t get the basket I felt like we needed,” Ross said. “When we had a four-point lead, we had two terrible turnovers that hurt. When you are up 64-60 you have to take care of the basketball.”
Seton scored seven straight to go on top 67-64 as Trent Reichley drilled a 3-pointer with 3:30 remaining.
Nate Reynolds answered with a long trey for his 23rd point of the contest.
“Nate’s going to be a great player and he stepped up in a big game,” Ross said.
Unfortunately for the Knights, they would be able to score one more basket the rest of the way.
Tyler Smith led Northeastern with 25 points. Robert Smith added nine points as he topped the Knights with 14 rebounds.
Seton won the JV contest 36-32. Northeastern’s Blake Hancock led the way with 13 points, while Jalen Hillard tossed in 12.
Sam Brenneke led Seton with 13 points.
The Knights return to action next week when they host the Northeastern Tournament on Dec. 28-29. Northeastern plays New Washington in its opener of the eight-team affair.
Box Score
SETON (8-0) – Billie Webster III 5 4-5 17, Desmond Bane 5 8-10 19, Nick Mathews 0 0-0 0, Colten Pipenger 9 1-3 19, Cliff Dickman 4 0-0 10, Trent Reichley 4 0-0 11. Team – 27 13-18 76.
NORTHEASTERN (4-1) – Tyler Smith 9 4-4 25, Bailey Stewart 4 0-2 8, Robert Smith 4 1-1 9, Nate Reynolds 9 0-0 23, DaShawn Hampton 2 0-0 5, Kaleb Mikesell 0 2-2 2, Austin Clay 0 0-0 0, Harrison Rice 0 0-0 0, Alec Sheets 0 0-0 0. Team – 28 7-9 72.
Northeastern 21 36 51 723-pointers – Seton 9 (Webster 3, Reichley 3, Dickman 2 Bane 1), Northeastern 9 (Reynolds 5, T. Smith 3, Hampton). Rebounds – Seton 28 (Bane 13), Norteastern 35 (R. Smith 14). Turnovers – Seton 10, Northeastern 13. Fouls – Seton 9, Northeastern 17.