Shooting and defense are two things that North Montgomery boys basketball can do very well. Unfortunately for the Chargers on Thursday afternoon in the championship game against Frankfort, those two things were their downfall in their 53-34 loss. It started from the opening tip as the Chargers were getting good looks, but were just unable to knock them down. At halftime they were shooting 5-22 and trailed 29-14.
Meanwhile the Hot Dogs relied heavily on junior big man Jayce Strode who was making his return to the lineup. Strode led all scorers in the game with 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
“He’s a tough guard and is man down there,” North Montgomery coach Chad Arnold said of Strode. “They’re a different team when he’s on the court. We didn’t guard well period and that’s the reason we lost. We weren’t as engaged as we have been as of late, but we’ll be alright. We went 2-1 in this tournament and the guys have earned a some time off. We’ll get back at it and get better defensively.”
The Chargers shot 14-39 (36%) in the loss and just 3-14 from three point range. They were led in scoring by Kelby Harwood who ended the game with 16 points. Jarrod Kirsch, Ross Dyson, and Nate McCoy all scored four while Colton Zachary and Cameron Enlow each scored three.
Frankfort shot a blistering 22-38 (58%) from the field and along with Strode’s 22 got 10 points from Kye Kirby. Quentcy Perry added nine, Kristofer Russell scored eight, Doug Wood three, and Cayden Jarman one.
“When our shot isn’t falling, we just have to defend defend defend,” Arnold said. “It could’ve been a lot different game if we defended in the first half because we stayed with them in the second half (24-20 Hot Dogs). We gave them too many easy looks and when they start to see that ball go in, it just raises their confidence.”
Still a second place finish is something that the Chargers can take with them moving forward as throughout the tournament, players like Kirsch found his shot while Harwood continues his steady scoring.
“We saw some great things this tournament,” Arnold concluded. “There’s still a lot of work to be down, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
North Montgomery with their 2-1 record in the tournament see their record stand at 4-5 on the season. They will be back in action on Tuesday Jan. 3 when they host the Sheridan Blackhawks.
FRANKFORT 53, NORTH MONTGOMERY 34
Score By Quarter
FF 16 13 15 9 — 53
NM 8 6 12 8 — 34
Frankfort (4-5)
FG-FGA FT-FTA Pts: Doug Wood 1-4 1-4 3, Kye Kirby 5-6 0-0 10, Quentcy Perry 4-6 0-0 9, Kristofer Russell 3-5 1-1 8, Cayden Jarman 0-0 1-2 1, Jayce Strode 9-15 2-3 22, Alex Farley 0-2 0-0; Totals 22-38 5-10 53
North Montgomery (4-5)
MIkale Willis 0-2 0-0 0, Jarrod Kirsch 2-10 0-0 4, Colton Zachary 1-5 0-0 3, Ross Dyson 2-3 0-0 4, Kelby Harwood 6-8 3-3 16, Cameron Enlow 1-2 0-0 3, Nate McCoy 2-2 0-0 4, Drew Norman 0-3 0-0 0, Paul Leuking 0-4 0-0 0; Totals 14-39 3-3 34
3 pt shooting: FF 4-8 (Strode 2, Perry, Russell), NM 3-14 (Kirsch, Harwood, Enlow)
Rebounding: FF 26 (Strode 10, Wood 5), NM 16 (Harwood 5, Norman 5)
Turnovers: FF 12, NM 10