Northview gets past Bobcats in overtime

BOWLING GREEN - Northview was considered among the preseason favorites to win the Northern Lakes League boys basketball crown.

The Wildcats took a giant step toward living up to those expectations last night with a big road victory by knocking off Bowling Green 63-59 in overtime.

Matt Wade scored a game-high 25 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, to lead the Wildcats (2-2, 2-1 NLL). Derek Andrzejczak chipped in 11 points, while Brian Koehl and Mike Schaffer added 10 apiece for Northview, which trailed BG by as much as 12 points in the third quarter.

"It's a good team win," Northview coach Dennis Shoemaker said. "Everybody did something during the course of the game to contribute to the win."

BG's Jordan Fortney finished with a team-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds. Blaise Markey poured in 17 points,including four 3-pointers.

Markey sent the game into overtime when he drained his fourth 3-pointer by retrieving a loose ball and firing up a desperation shot that swished through the net with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation.

However, Northview hung tough in the extra period to hand the Bobcats (3-1, 2-1 NLL) their first defeat of the season.

"We hadn't been in a dogfight," BG coach Von Graffin said. "We need our young kids to cut their teeth and grow up."

The Bobcats outscored the Wildcats 20-10 in the second quarter and ended up taking a 34-28 lead into halftime.

Fortney and Markey carried the Bobcats through the first half. They combined for 22 of BG's 34 points before halftime.

Fortney had 13 at the break, while Markey pumped in nine points with three 3-pointers.

The Wildcats proved to be more balanced with their attack even though their top scoring option, Andrzejczak, provided only two points in the first half.

Wade led the way with eight points in the first half, while Koehl had seven and Jaques accounted for six.

Northview made good on 11 of 14 free throws in the first half. The Wildcats were 8-for-8 at the foul line in the second quarter to keep pace with the Bobcats. In comparison, BG went to the foul line only four times during the first half. However, they made good on all four attempts.

Contact Donald Emmons at:

demmons@theblade.com

or 419-724-6302.