The Bolts visited "The Pit" at Oakwood High School in a rare Monday night matchup. Coming off of a strong showing Friday night, the Bolts were looking to pick up their first win away from the Thunderdome. They achieved this in a low-scoring 45-40 victory.
"I have to give credit to Oakwood. I see a team that can give some teams problems in the tournament...they have size and shooting", Coach Allen Spears said of the Lumberjacks.
From the get-go both teams battled. Some early 3's by the Jacks allowed them to stay pace. But the Bolts pulled away in the 2nd quarter to take a 31-21 lead into the half.
"I was pleased with our guys to come into this place, take a punch in the mouth in the 1st quarter, and jump back in the 2nd quarter" said Coach Spears.
Oakwood adjusted in the 2nd half holding Northmont to just 4 points in the 3rd quarter, but the Bolts still led at the quarter break 35-29. As Oakwood continued to fight back in the 4th quarter, Coach Spears leaned on reminding his guys of where they were and executing down the stretch.
"I saw some of our guys' faces and could see some anxiety setting in. I reminded them that we were still ahead hoping it would calm them".
Free throws had been an issue through 3 quarters, but the Bolts went 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter to solidify the win. Senior Chisom Ibe led scoring with 14 points in the win. Sophomore Ja'Kye Hoard poured in 9 points.
The win marks a third straight victory and pushes the Varsity to 3-3 on the year.
JV won a thriller in their game. After leading by 5 at the half, the Bolts allowed Oakwood to retake the lead and jump ahead by as much as 7 points in the 4th quarter. Northmont fought back and sophomore Keegan Anderson buried a 3 with 3.6 seconds left to win the game 50-48. Junior Tony Locklin led scoring with 15 points as the JV moved to 3-2 on the year.
Freshman fell 44-37 in their matchup dropping to 1-4 on the year. Loyal Williamson led scoring with 12 points.
All 3 teams return to action Friday night on the road at Springfield.
