In a game that was close through the first three quarters of play, the Norwell Knights left the Columbia City Golden Eagles in the dust in the fourth quarter to come away with a 68-55 win in NE8 Conference action at The Castle on Saturday.
Norwell (15-3, 5-1) led 22-21 after one quarter and 41-39 at the half.
The Eagles (12-5, 4-2) continued to stick with the Knights in the third quarter, too, as they only trailed 53-49 going into the fourth.
That is when the Knights finally began to break away as they outscored their visitors 15-6 over the game’s final eight minutes.
Both teams shot the ball incredibly well as the Knights made 21 of 41 field goal attempts (51.2 percent) and the Eagles knocked down 23 of 38 (60.5 percent).
Where Norwell had the advantage was the free-throw line as it made 16-of-22 shots (72.7 percent) while Columbia City made just 5 of 11 (45.5 percent). Norwell also outrebounded Columbia City 20-12 and committed just seven turnovers while forcing 10.
With the win, the Knights moved into first place in the NE8 standings, breaking a three-way tie it previously had with Leo and Columbia City.
Luke McBride led Norwell’s offense with 20 points, and Lleyton Bailey followed with 18.
