Tourney Run Ends for Northeastern

GREENFIELD, Ind. – Northeastern’s season came to an end on Saturday in the Class 2A regional finale at Greenfield-Central.

The fourth-ranked Knights fell 65-50 to Heritage Christian in the title contest.

“We’re not going to make excuses,” Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross said. “I want to give all of the credit to Heritage Christian. They played a great ball game.”

“We had our opportunities,” Ross continued. “We just struggled.”

It was the final game for seniors Kaleb Mikesell, Nate Reynolds, Harrison Rice and Tyler Smith.

“These guys are warriors,” Ross said of the team. “What they have accomplished in four years in our program is amazing. I felt like they left it on the floor. They never quit.”

“I want to thank our fan base for coming out,” Ross added. “The support we’ve had is unbelievable.”

Smith led the Knights with 16 points, but he had only two in the second half has he battled leg cramps.

Reynolds added 14 points and five rebounds. Freeman Brou grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go with five points.

The Knights led 17-16 at the end of the first period, but they trailed 26-24 by the intermission.

The Eagles increased their margin to 43-35 after the third.

Kyle Somers topped the Eagles with 16 points and Hayden Wynja finished with 15.

Knights Start with Win

Northeastern began the day with a 67-59 win over No. 12 Cloverdale (21-7).

After falling behind early 16-6, a 21-point run had the Knights up 27-16 midway through the second quarter. Northeastern led 31-25 by halftime.

The Clovers bounced back to go on top 45-44 after three, but Smith scored five straight points for Northeastern to begin the fourth as the Knights tookl the lead for good at 49-45.

Smith had 28 points for Northeastern, while Reynolds added 15. Rice led the way with eight rebounds.

Jalen Moore led Cloverdale with 31 points. Butler recruit Cooper Neese finished with 20 points.

Championship box score
NORTHEASTERN (22-6) – Tyler Smith 5 4-9 16, Kaleb Mikesell 1 2-2 4, Nate Reynolds 4 3-3 14, Harrison Rice 1 1-2 3, Jordan Stolle 1 0-0 3, Freeman Brou 1 3-5 5, Jalen Hillard 1 0-0 3, Alex Reynolds 1 0-0 2, Blake Hancock 0 0-0 0, Caylor Fisher 0 0-0 0. Team – 15 13-23 50.
HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (17-9) – Ben Gordan 1 0-2 3, Andrew Williams 2 2-2 8, Kyle Somers 3 8-8 16, Zack Meus 4 4-5 12, Hayden Wynja 6 2-2 15, Joe Geiger 2 4-4 9, Bennett Coster 0 2-2 2, Frankie Young 0 0-0 0, Sam McCloskey 0 0-0 0, Jack Arterburn 0 0-0 0, Harrison Eckel 0 0-0 0, Dawson Hancock 0 0-0 0. Team – 18 22-25 65.

Northeastern 17 24 35 50
Heritage Christian 16 26 43 65

3-pointers – Northeastern 7 (N. Reynolds 3, Smith 2, Hillard, Stolle), Heritage Christian 7 (Williams 2, Somers 2, Gordan, Wynta, Geiger). Rebounds – Northeastern 22 (Brou 6), Heritage Christian 36 (Meus 8). Turnovers – Northeastern 7, Heritage Christian 13. Fouls – Northeastern 19, Heritage Christian 18. Fouled out – Mikesell.

First round box score
CLOVERDALE (21-7) – Cooper Neese 6 5-7 20, Nick Winders 1 1-2 4, Parker Watts 0 0-0 0, Clayton Miller 0 0-0 0, Jake Wilkes 2 0-0 4, Seth Pfaff 0 0-0 0, Jalen Moore 7 14-16 31. Team – 18 20-25 59.
NORTHEASTERN (22-5) – Tyler Smith 7 14-17 28, Kaleb Mikesell 3 0-0 8, Nate Reynolds 4 4-6 15, Harrison Rice 2 2-2 6, Jordan Stolle 0 0-0 0, Jalen Hillard 2 0-0 4, Freeman Brou 2 2-3 6, Alex Reynolds 0 0-0 0. Team – 20 22-28 67.

Cloverdale 16 25 45 59
Northeastern 11 31 44 67

3-pointers – Cloverdale 7 (Moore 3, Neese 3, Winders 1), Northeastern 5 (N. Reynolds 3-5, K. Mikesell 2-2). Fouls – Cloverdale 23, Northeastern 21. Fouled out – Pfaff, Wilkes, Winders.