LEBANON — North Montgomery’s basketball season came to an end Tuesday in the first round of the IHSAA Sectional with a 49-37 loss to Lebanon.
The defensive battle mirrored a low scoring Tigers’ win over the Chargers last year in the tournament and a 49-42 victory in regular season action.
The Chargers finish the season 7-16 while the Tigers improve to 9-15 for the season and, most importantly for them, advance to the sectional semifinal Friday against Southmont.
That streak came at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Chargers were led in scoring by Justin Clary. The senior, who joined North Montgomery’s 1,000-point club late in the regular season, finished with 16 points in his last game playing for the Chargers. Preston Shaw had eight points while Kade Kobel had six.
North Montgomery was 15-of-38 from the field, 4-of-16 from long range and was only 3-of-4 from the line. They finished with 27 rebounds. Clary and fellow senior Caleb Donahue each had six boards. The Chargers had 12 turnovers.
The Tigers were led in scoring by sophomore Carson Burton, who finished with 18 points on the night, including a 7-of-12 game at the line. Sophomore Michael Reese had 10, including a pair of 3-pointers.