The Warriors beat Ben Logan by 10 points on Jan. 6 after leading by two at halftime. It was nowhere near that close on Friday, as Northwestern went on a 30-6 run in the first and second quarters to take a 41-17 lead.
“Every time you’ve got to go up to Ben Logan, it’s tough,” Northwestern coach Gerald Embry said. “You’ve got that long bus ride and it’s tough to stay focused. We weren’t ready to play that first time and had a couple of times where we let them back in. We talked about that before tonight’s game, and we came out more focused.”
Kurt Waters led Northwestern with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Ryan Cleland scored 17 points and had seven rebounds. Embry said Cleland was a big difference-maker in Friday’s game.
Northwestern couldn’t get going early as Benjamin Logan controlled the pace and prevented any fast-break baskets. Dalton Rockhold made a basket with 2:34 left in the first quarter to give the Raiders a 9-5 lead. Embry called a timeout after the basket.
“Ryan stepped up in that huddle,” Embry said. “We just kind of came out flat, and we were overlooking them a little bit because everybody’s ready for this big match-up with Bellefontaine on Tuesday. Ryan’s our leader, and he basically took over in that huddle.”
Northwestern’s fast-break offense exploded after that. The Warriors finished the first quarter on an 11-2 run to take a five-point lead, and the hot streak continued into the second. Cleland hit a 3-pointer midway through to put the Warriors up 27-13. Benjamin Logan took two timeouts in the second, but neither helped slow Northwestern down. The Warriors led 41-17 at the break.
Northwestern can now turn its attention to Tuesday’s game against Bellefontaine. The Chieftains improved to 13-3 overall and 8-0 in the CBC Kenton Trail Division with a win over Graham on Friday. Cleland said the team will be ready.
“That set in the second quarter we had tonight, we have to do that the whole game against Bellefontaine,” Cleland said. “They’ve got four or five good guys that can take it to the rack or shoot outside, so we’ve got to play good all-around on defense and play as a team on offense.
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