Northland outlasts Brookhaven in City League opener
As the Northland Vikings walked onto the floor to begin a season where the defending state champs will be challenged more than ever, the opening tip was an indication of what was to come. As usual, Jared Sullinger won the tip and the season was off. Even on a night where top players Sullinger and JD Weatherspoon weren’t as dominant as they have been in the past, the rest of the Northland squad stepped up big time in a 69-43 win over rival Brookhaven.
Penn State bound point guard Trey Burke took care of the scoring department, shooting exceptionally well from the field in part of 21 point performance in front of a packed crowd at Northland High School. Sullinger got the crowd rocking early on a tip slam in the second quarter that virtually changed the momentum of the game. As the Vikings were tied 15-15 at the end of the first, Ohio’s reigning Mr. Basketball decided to take over the game. Drawing fouls all night, Sullinger collected 17 points, with the majority coming from the free throw line.
Brookhaven’s big man, Peter Kpan did an outstanding job as well. Guarding Sullinger is not the easiest task, and Kpan took care of it exceptionally well. Positioning himself in the post all night, Sullinger had a tough time getting the ball when Kpan was on him. To everyone in the stands, Kpan came as a surprise as nobody in the City League had been a challenge for Jared throughout the first three years of watching him. Kpan also did an above average job on the offensive side of the ball, scoring eight points including an impressive spin in the post on Sullinger, one of the only times Kpan scored on the Ohio State bound star.
Back to Burke, who was arguably the MVP on Tuesday night. Weeks after committing to Penn State, Trey Burke showed the crowd at Northland just what he is going to do this season. Controlling the ball on offense, Burke dominated the game at his own pace. Whether it was slashing to the basket, or hitting deep three’s, which he did three times on Tuesday, the junior was the best player on the court. But with every win in basketball, it takes more than two players to get it done and the Vikings did just that. Sophomore KeChaun Lewis electrified the crowd in the third quarter when #22 threw down a thunderous jam on a fast break where Lewis caused a turnover, one of many for Brookhaven last night.
The offense for Northland was very good for the most part, as Weatherspoon poured in seven, Burke added in seven as well and Lavonte Justice had six points coming off of two three point field goals. JV superstar Lequan Williams also made a contribution late in the game, driving to the hoop for two of his six points. With the balanced scoring, the Viking defense was virtually suffocating. Giving up a game high 15 points in the first, no such scoring output for Brookhaven would come again. Building an eight point lead at the break, the Vikings would go on to allow six, 11 and 11 points in the last three quarters. A good mix of offense and defense is crucial to winning basketball games and Northland took care of that downing the Brookhaven Bearcats once again.
To see highlights of the game go to:http://www.mefeedia.com/video/26698248. This is compliments of Anthony Murphy over at Cap City Preps.
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