By JOSH BURRIS
Hard work has been paying off for the Norwell Knights.
In last year’s sectional championship game, a sophomore-heavy Knights team lost a lead and eventually the game against the Mississinewa Indians. This year, however, the Knights did not let things slip away late as they brought the trophy back to Norwell last Saturday with a 62-61 victory over the Oak Hill Golden Eagles in the Class 3A Sectional 23 championship.
It’s the second time in three years the Knights have been crowned champions.
“It feels really good to win the sectional this year,” McBride said. “It was really tough last year when we lost in the sectional final after leading a good portion of the game and not being able to finish it out. So to be able to win it this year, it’s just a real testament to the amount of work our kids put into things in the offseason and their dedication to getting better and improving.”
All throughout the six-team tournament, the Knights (22-4) found different ways to win. They first relied on offense to defeat the Heritage Patriots 72-54. Next they relied on defense to defeat the Eastern Comets 63-29. Against Oak Hill, they put both together and relied on mental toughness to stick with the Golden Eagles in a close game.
McBride said his team is capable of adjusting to whatever the night may bring.
“We are very multidimensional. We are typically able to adjust to whatever style the game ends up being on that particular night,” he said. “Again, I think that goes back to how we’ve continued to grow throughout the year and just the ability to continue to improve our mental toughness night in and night out.”
The No. 7 Knights will now head to the Regional 6 tournament at New Castle this Saturday, where they will be met in the second game of the day by the Leo Lions (19-5). Like Norwell, Leo also is checked into the top 10 poll at No. 8 and is a fellow member of the Northeast 8 Conference.
While the Knights won the NE8 with a 6-1 conference record, it was the Lions that handed them their only loss – a 62-55 defeat back on Jan. 8.
There were a couple things McBride pointed to in that game that went wrong.
“I felt like in the first game we had too many turnovers. We are going to have to do a lot better of a job taking care of the ball and being secure with the ball,” McBride said. “Of those turnovers, there were multiple ones that were out front that led to easy fast break layups for them. We are going to have to be a lot better at that in this game. I also felt in the first game that we didn’t shoot the ball as well as what we are capable of from outside. And I felt like we had some good shots, so hopefully we will be able to knock those down more consistently in this game.”
The Knights only shot 35.7 percent from the field in that game 12 turnovers to Leo’s nine.
McBride also complimented Leo bigs Caedmon Bontrager and DJ Allen. Bontrager – a 6-foot-8 senior – put up 16 points and 13 rebounds in that first meeting while Allen – also a senior and standing 6-foot-7 – put up 9 points and seven rebounds.
Guards Ayden Ruble and Trey Hiteshew also each put up 10 points in that game, the Lions as a whole shot 47.8 percent from the field.
To get to the regional, Leo had to go through Angola, Bishop Luers, and Concordia in Sectional 22.
“They are a good team. They present some real challenges inside with Bontrager and Allen,” McBride said. “Their guards are pretty active, pretty long, and have got good strength and athleticism. They’re basically a group of seniors too. They’ve got a lot of seniors. So they are a good basketball team no doubt.”
Should the Knights win, they would face the winner of Saturday’s first game between NorthWood (24-2) and Yorktown (10-14).
NorthWood is ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, won the Northern Lakes Conference, and was a regional runner-up last year. McBride says that Yorktown, while its record may not be glamorous, is still a solid team. He points out how challenging its schedule is.
He said at this point he has seen limited film on both schools but that both could present challenges to his team.
“Both of them are good, Leo is good, and we are good. It’s just four good teams down at New Castle on Saturday. It’s going to be a great opportunity for fans to go watch some really good basketball.”
While Norwell has been getting its usual production from its leading scorers Luke McBride and Lleyton Bailey, Luke Graft – whose impact is mostly seen on the defensive end – has been a pleasant surprise on the offensive end in tournament play.
In three sectional games, Graft has scored 14, 7, and 22 points while shooting a combined 15-of-20 (75 percent).
“I think he’s playing with a more aggressive mentality, and I feel like his confidence has grown,” McBride said about his junior forward. “We are going to need him to continue to attack and continue to play with an aggressive mentality like he has. He makes us a lot better when he’s playing that way.”
Along with Graft, McBride added they will need everyone playing at their best to win this regional.
“We are going to need all of our guys ready to go. This is going to be a game where everybody is going to have to contribute,” he said. “We are going to need everybody in our starting group and off the bench. When their number is called, they’ve got to be ready to contribute and bring positive things to us when they enter the game.”
McBride added they will need to be solid on their fundamentals to win the two games required: defend, rebound, take care of the basketball, make shots, and make free throws.
Those have been things McBride and the Knights have been relying on all season to get them to this point.
“Those are fundamental things that you have to do night in and night out to have an opportunity to win. I think we have a group of guys that for the most part do those fundamental things pretty well,” McBride said. “The regional is a tremendous challenge, and our guys I think will be up for the challenge.”
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