Shelby improves to 14-4; North falls to 6-11.

 

NOHS sophomore Devon Rowan leads all scorers with 25 points (and - unofficially - 14 rebounds)>

 

North had a 17-6 lead early, but settled for a 17-11 lead after one.

Shelby rallied with 31 points in the second, capped by a Cache Tomlinson three at the buzzer, to take a 42-33 lead at the break. Tomlinson had five threes.

 

Shelby stretched the lead to 13 in the third, but the Mustangs rallied, and Shelby took a six point lead into the fourth quarter before winning by 9.

 

Rockets dominated the glass and won the turnover war to win the game.

 

North shot 50% overall from the floor and 44% beyond the arc. (8 of 18, with Max Steinfeld hitting four threes).

 

Shelby's win breaks the series tie; Shelby now leads the overall series with North, 4-3.

how did hicks do?

I thought North Oldham's record would be better this year?:confused:

how did hicks do?

 

Hicks did well, and finished with 21 points and (unofficially) 9 rebounds. He was 8 of 14 from the field. He was 1 of 4 beyond the arc.

 

I thought North Oldham's record would be better this year?:confused:

 

My observations of the Mustangs...

 

North has faced several obstacles this year. First, the schedule hasn't been exactly friendly, arguably one of the 2 or 3 toughest schedules of the boys teams in the 8th region. On the road at #13 Tates Creek (BGP rankings), on the road against #8 Christian County, on a neutral court against defending 3rd region champ Grayson County (one of the top-ranked 3rd region teams this year), two games vs. last year's state runner-ups, Central, on the road vs. the #2 team in the 2nd region (according to Litkenhous) Hopkinsville, at #12 Lexington Catholic, on the road vs. the third ranked team in region 2 (accordingt to Litkenhous) University Heights, the top two ranked teams in the 8th Region (Shelby County and Anderson County), along with games against some pretty good teams in Butler, Ryle, and Newport Central Catholic.

 

Spencer County (13-3), Owen County (11-6), Oldham County (6-13), and Collegiate (9-6) have been the "weakest" teams the Mustangs have played, and I would say both Owen and Spencer don't qualify as "weak", although neither is the caliber of a ranked team...

 

Second, North is still in a learning curve. Three sophomores started against Shelby County. 6'7" sophomore center Devon Rowan (25 points, 14 rebounds) played exceptionally well. Kameron Shams (5'10" sophomore) scored 3 points, and 6'0" sophomore Jacob Clark scored 2 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Usually the first sub off the bench is freshman David Levitch, a 5'8" freshman guard who's averaging 6 ppg. I think the learning curve also takes a little longer at North than some teams because Coach Danny Edelen plays so many in his regular game rotation. Against Shelby County, the Mustangs played 10; they typically play 11 in most games.

 

A third challenge for the Mustangs this year has been their size - or lack thereof. Rowan is a monster; but the rest of the team gets short in a hurry. Backup senior center Zach Lagrange is 6'3", Nick Harley is 6'2", Max Steinfeld is 6'1", and Clark is 6'0" - the rest of the team is under 6'0". At times, North is playing a lineup with five kids all under 6 feet tall. As such, rebounding has at times been an issue, especially if Rowan is out of the game. This seems to be improving; although Shelby County won the rebounding war Friday night, one would have expected the much taller Rockets (across the lineup, the Rockets boast 6'6" senior Donovan Johnson, 6'5" Eric Standafer, 6'3" Darryl Hicks in the starting five, plus 6'4" Nigel Beach off the bench) to dominate the glass by a much larger margin. North was - unofficially - outrebounded by just one in the second half.

 

I've seen North against Spencer County, Grayson County, Oldham County, Owen County, Anderson County, and Shelby County... They are dramatically improved over the beginning of the season, and if their games against Anderson (3 point loss, 51-48) and Shelby (9 point loss, 84-75) are any indication, the Mustangs will not be an easy out come tournament time.

 

We'll learn a lot more about North as the season progresses. Their remaining games include Bullitt East, Fairdale, South Oldham, and Fern Creek.

 

North, at 1-0 in the district, can still claim the #1 seed in the 29th with wins over South Oldham (2/2/10 at North) and Trimble County (2/5/10 on the road). North hosts the 29th district tournament for the first time ever this February.