Northwest tops North in thriller
Nothing that Northwest senior guard Craig Nicholson does on the basketball court shocks coach Chris Collins anymore. Not one of Nicholson's patented crossovers, not a tough rebound, not a big three with a defender's hand in his face.
And not when Nicholson hit the game-winning shot Tuesday night in a 61-59 win at North.
"It doesn't surprise me," Collins said. "You've seen it before. You've seen it. I'm not trying to make light of it, but you've seen it."
The game was back-and-forth throughout, and Nicholson and North junior Conner Frankamp thrilled the crowd with exciting plays. Nicholson finished with a game-high 20 points, hitting 7-of-16 shots and getting six rebounds. Frankamp had 19 points on 8-of-22 shooting, including 3 of 10 from three-point range.
In the final two minutes, there was Frankamp blocking a layup by Nicholson, only to see Nicholson somehow regain possession and get the ball to teammate Dauntae Carter for a basket and the 58-55 lead.
Then, with 16 seconds to go and North trailing by two, Frankamp drove the lane, and as the Grizzlies' defense collapsed on him, he passed off to Torrance Henderson for the easy basket to tie the score at 59-all.
Nicholson immediately dribbled up the court, glancing at the clock, then pulled up for a jumper in the lane with four seconds remaining.
"The first thing that came into my mind was, 'he's about to hit that shot like he did at Carroll two years ago,'" said teammate Spenser Gales, who had 19 rebounds and 12 points. "He pulled up on the mid-range (shot). It was working for him all night."
North still had time, though, and coach Gary Squires immediately called a timeout. The first option was to get the ball to Frankamp, but Squires said he was double-teamed. The third option was Zach Beard, who finished with 15 points, hitting 3 of 9 three-pointers.
Beard dribbled up the court and took a three that bounced off the rim.
"He had a good look at it, but it didn't go down," Squires said.
Northwest dominated the inside game, outrebounding North 42-31, including 18-9 on the offensive boards. Northwest forward Kendrick Miller finished with 18 points.
North's Beau Shockley had 10 rebounds and four points.
"We've got to get more physical inside," Squires said.
Northwest (2-0, 2-0) 17 15 15 14—61 North (0-2, 0-2) 16 15 18 10—59
NORTHWEST: Tuggles 2 1-1 5, Miller 7 4-4 18, Gales 4 4-11 12, Carter 2 1-2 6, Nicholson 7 4-6 20, Moncada 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 (3) 14-24 61.
NORTH: Frankamp 8 0-1 19, Elliott 5 0-0 10, Shockley 2 0-0 4, Henderson 1 0-0 2, Beard 6 0-0 15, Williams 1 0-0 3, Urban 0 0-0 0, Bernard 2 0-0 4, Kinder 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 (7) 0-1 59.