FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – The Northeastern boys basketball team fell in overtime on Tuesday as Class 4A No. 13 Connersville won 63-56 over the Class 2A No. 4 Knights.
“When you play a great ball club like that, it comes down to possessions,” Northeastern coach Brent Ross said. “You always want to come out on the winning side, but they made the plays they had to make in overtime and we didn’t make them.”
Tied 54-54 at the end of regulation, the Spartans made 7-of-9 free throws in the extra session to put the game away.
“It was a good win on the road against a good basketball team,” Connersville coach Kerry Brown said.
It was the final home game for Northeastern seniors Tyler Smith, Kaleb Mikesell, Nate Reynolds and Harrison Rice.
Smith led the Knights with 22 points and seven rebounds.
“He’s a handful,” Brown said. “He’s a good player.
Reynolds added 16. Freeman Brou tossed in eight and Rice finished with seven.
“We lost this game because we didn’t make the plays we needed down the stretch,” Ross said. “I give Connersville’s defense credit for that.”
“We didn’t get it done, but I like where we are,” Ross added. “We had some mental breakdowns on defense. That’s correctable.”
Connersville was led by Grant Smith, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Dalton Huffman and Ben Isaacs both had 12 points.
The Spartans led 15-14 after one period, but the Knights went on top 26-25 by the intermission.
After the third period, the Spartans were able to build a 42-36 advantage before the Knights fought back to tie the battle on a basket by Tyler Smith with 1:07 remaining.
Grant Smith had a shot roll off the rim at the buzzer at the end of regulation to set the stage for the overtime.
The Spartans won the JV contest 38-23 with Garrett Wickes leading the way with 16 points. Chad Level has six points for the Knights, while Quantrell Gammon finished with five.
Northeastern (18-5) finishes the regular season tonight with a trip to Tri-Eastern Conference foe Union City.
Connersville (23-1) faces Mt. Vernon in the opening round of the Class 4A sectional at on Tuesday.
Box score
CONNERSVILLE (23-1) – Garrett Silcott 3 1-2 7, Noah Belt 0 2-2 2, Grant Smith 7 7-9 22, Dalton Huffman 4 4-4 12, Beau Isaacs 5 2-3 12, Hunter Sullenbarger 2 0-0 6, Dalton Lee 0 0-0 0, Braxton Revalee 0 0-0 0, Wes Smith 0 0-0 0, Gavin Wickes 0 0-0 0. Team – 21 16-20 63.
NORTHEASTERN (18-5) – Tyler Smith 9 2-2 22, Kaleb Mikesell 0 0-0 0, Nate Reynolds 5 2-2 16, Harrison Rice 3 1-1 7, Jordan Stolle 1 0-0 3, Jalen Hillard 0 0-1 0, Freeman Brou 4 0-0 8, Alex Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Blake Hancock 0 0-0 0. Team – 22 5-6 56.
Connersville 15 25 42 54 63
Northeastern 14 26 36 54 56
3-pointers – Connersville 5 (Isaacs 2, Sullenbarger 2, Smith), Northeastern 7 (N. Reynolds 4, Smith 2, Stolle). Rebounds – Connersville 33 (Smith 10), Northeastern 29 (Smith 7). Turnovers – Connersville 6, Northeastern 5. Fouls – Connersville 8, Northeastern 16. Fouled out – None. JV score – Connersville 38, Northeastern 23.