Boys Basketball: Hall’s 3s jolt North Union over Fairbanks
Monday, January 15, 2024
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
North Union’s Miles Hall works against Fairbanks’ A.J. Landon in the Battle in the 614 at Ohio Dominican Jan. 15. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Needing a shot to finally fall, Miles Hall found his stroke and jump started the North Union boys basketball team.
He hit a pair of 3s to back Max Parish’s 24 points and the Wildcats got by Fairbanks 53-48 in the Battle in the 614 on Jan. 15 at Ohio Dominican’s Alumni Hall.
The Wildcats trailed 19-16 at the break and were shutout behind the arc before Hall’s first 3, which came on North Union’s first possession of the second half.
His second 3 came on the next possession to give the Wildcats a 22-21 lead after Ryker Green had given Fairbanks the lead back.
“In the first half, I wasn’t shooting the ball very well,” said Hall, a junior guard, who finished with 10 points. “There was definitely some frustration there because we know we’re a better offensive team than 16 points. I think that third quarter really showed (that).”
The teams battled back and forth most of the second half. But the 3s were the start of a 21-point third quarter for North Union, which improved to 10-3 overall with the win.
North Union’s Nolan Draper, who led the Wildcats with 24 points, shoots against Fairbanks during the Wildcats’ win on Jan. 15 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“We just got a couple of shots to fall,” North Union coach Ryan Grose said. “We had the same looks in the first half and couldn’t make any of them. It was just a couple (of shots) going through the net and that definitely helped us get going.”
Nolan Draper scored 14 points in the second half and Tyler Krebenhenne added 10 points – all in the second half as the Wildcats found their offense.
“(The first half) was kind of rough, but we just made up for it on defense,” said Draper, a senior forward, who also had five rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. “When we came out in the second half, Miles hit two 3s and I had a layup and they called a timeout. We just started rolling from there. I think (those 3s) just boosted confidence in all of us.”
Krebenhenne’s 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 34 seconds left in the third quarter gave North Union a lead in which it held until a Holtz Maine free throw with 4:41 left in the game.
Parish scored six points in an 8-0 run right after that put the Wildcats up for good.
“He’s a one-of-a-kind player,” Hall said. “He’s very athletic and brings something that not every team can have and we’re very fortunate to have him.”
Krebenhenne added eight rebounds and Rylan Keever dished out six assists, including both of Hall’s 3s.
Fairbanks’ Holtz Maine (44), who paced the Panthers with 24 points, goes up strong against North Union’s Rylan Keever (2) on Jan. 15 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Maine presented problems for the Wildcats inside, scoring all 13 of the Panthers’ points in the second quarter.
“To guard a big guy when we’re not big takes all five (of our) guys,” Grose said. “We just didn’t do a good enough job of that in the first half. It starts with more ball pressure … and our guys on the back end being engaged. I think we made that clear at halftime. They hadn’t made an outside either and that’s what was bothering me. We made that adjustment and (slowed him down).”
Maine tied Draper with a game-high 24 points and led all with 11 rebounds.
“(Maine is) the guy we want to throw it into every possession because when he’s in attack mode, there aren’t too many guys that can stop him,” Fairbanks coach Zach Brown said.
Braydon Wiedmann had 10 points and five rebounds and Green added seven points and four boards for the Panthers, who had an eight-game winning streak snapped and fell to 12-3.
A.J. Landon had a game-best seven assists, Dominic Kennedy added five rebounds for the Panthers.
“We talked at halftime about the importance of making a run out of halftime,” Brown said. “The first 3 minutes there, a couple of their guys hit some big shots and then they took the lead on us. We could never dig ourselves out of that hole.”
North Union’s Max Parish puts up a shot while Fairbanks’ A.J. Landon defends in the Battle of the 614 Jan. 15 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: John Hulkenberg