Sunday, December 20, 2020

Bluejay Boys Pull Away in Second Half to Down East Harrison 64-34

Northeast Nodaway’s boys pulled away in the second half to beat East Harrison 64-34 last Tuesday. They won their second straight after hitting a rough stretch against Worth County and Stanberry. They came out of their slump in a big way against King City and then continued their winning ways against the Bobcats.

The Bluejays started off fast in the game; East Harrison fought back to within three at one point in the second, but then the Bluejays found their second win and put them away in the second half.

Lane Dack went backdoor after Zach Pride pushed one ahead, but then Mark Willis got a putback for the orange shirts For the next four minutes, it was all Northeast; Ben Boswell went backdoor and got a pass from Auston Pride, Ben Boswell hit Zach Pride in transition, Boswell went deep for three, Auston Pride hit a posted Dylan McIntyre inside, and Ben Boswell hit Auston Pride in transition to make it 13-2.

But then East Harrison, fueled by their two-headed monster of Adam Rinehart and Mark Willis, began to fight back; Willis hit a pair of free throws, Willis again converted in transition, and Rinehart scored off a drive to make it 13-8. Lane Dack responded with a putback and Ben Boswell scored off a Dylan McIntyre steal, but then Rinehart was all alone in transition to make it 17-10 after one.

Ben Boswell scored off a steal with 6:40 left in the second to make it 21-12, but then the two person game of Adam Rinehart and Mark Willis began to make itself felt, as Rinehart began driving at will and the Bobcats fought their way back to within 21-18. Boswell broke the run after Colton Swalley skipped one to him for three, and Colton got a steal and Boswell dropped one in over Willis, who can dunk to make it 26-16. But East Harrison kept hanging around and the deficit stayed at ten at 33-23 at the half.

Coach Rory Jackson said that the team needed to do a better job of helping out on defense; once they did that in the second half, the Bluejays started to pull away. Rinehart still got his points, but Northeast was able to get tips and steals and get a ton of extra possessions.

Rinehart cut it to 33-25 to start the third, but it was all Bluejays from there, as Dylan McIntyre got the hot hand, starting with a free throw. Ben Boswell got a steal, Dylan McIntyre scored off a three point play, and Auston Pride hit two free throws to make it 41-25 and prompt a timeout.

But it didn’t matter as Auston Pride hit Dylan McIntyre backdoor, and Pride cleaned up in transition to make it 45-25. Rinehart hit from long range to make it 45-28, but then Dylan McIntyre continued to be on fire, converting a three point play after getting a pass from Colton Swalley, Colton Swalley got a steal and threw it to Zach Pride for two, Lane Dack hit Auston Pride inside, and Ben Boswell beat the buzzer with a pass to Dylan McIntyre to make it 54-28.

Putbacks from Dylan McIntyre and Auston Pride put the game into running clock territory at 58-28 at the 6:24 mark.

The Bluejays used balanced scoring to fuel their win, as Ben Boswell had 19, Auston Pride 18, Dylan McIntyre 17, Lane Dack 6, and Zach Pride 4.

Dylan McIntyre, Lane Dack, and Auston Pride all had 7 boards. Ben Boswell had 5, Zach Pride 2, and Colton Swalley and Brycen Kennard 1 each.

Zach Pride had 6 assists. Auston Pride had 5, Ben Boswell and Colton Swalley 4 each, Lane Dack 3, and Dylan McIntyre 1.

Zach Pride had 12 tips. Colton Swalley, Lane Dack, and Dylan McIntyre all had 5, while Auston Pride had 3 and Ben Boswell 2.

Dylan McIntyre had 5 steals. Ben Boswell and Lane Dack had 4, Colton Swalley and Zach Pride had 3, and Auston Pride 1.


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