City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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WEST YORK — Jon Eyster wasn’t quite ready to pull the revenge card Friday night, but there’s little doubt that a loss to York High just before Christmas was still ringing in each and every one of his Northeastern players’ perked-up ears.

Just had to be.

“Definitely was,” 6-3 senior rebounding machine Jeff Reynolds said. “Can’t remember the last time we beat them and they took one from us earlier this year. We had to come out here and prove a point.”

Even if that loss wasn’t the primary motivating tool in play with Eyster’s remarkably athletic bunch, the Bobcats were in full-scramble mode when they bounced on to the floor at West York High School’s brand-new gymnasium.

Driven throughout and able to maintain their high-octane tempo, Northeastern flashed a withering pace, a lethal transition attack and hammered York High on the glass, elements that enabled Eyster’s Bobcats to sideline the defending champions 76-47 in the second of two YAIAA tournament quarterfinals. 

Four Bobcats registered double-digit performances — Kobi Nwandu pocketed 15, Donovian Maxfield tacked on 11, Fred Mulbah chipped in 10 and Antonio Rizzuto hopped off the bench to toss in 10 — while Reynolds and Brandon Coleman added nine apiece as Northeastern (21-1) claimed its 14th straight win.

“We played well,” Eyster said.

“We were more prepared,” remarked Nwandu, who grabbed six boards, dished out two assists and authored one impressive first-half block. “We came out strong and we came out fighting. Coach knew we were gonna be fired up for this game.

“We just came out way more aggressive and we stayed aggressive throughout the whole game.”

Mulbah also dropped seven dimes for Northeastern, which sported a 47-16 advantage at the break and opened the third quarter with an 8-0 salvo. Eyster’s Bobcats led by as many as 42 points twice (60-18 and 66-24) in the third as the mercy rule jumped into action against Troy Sowers’ bewildered Bearcats.

“He’s a young guy and he’s quick,” said Reynolds, who added seven boards. “To be honest, I’ve yet to find anybody that can stay in front of him. He was pushing our offense forward and we were just running behind him, catching his passes.”

Up next for Northeastern in Tuesday’s YAIAA semis is a date with Spring Grove in the first of two at Red Lion. Eli Brooks (25 points/11 boards) and Darin Gordon (12 points/15 boards) popped double-doubles as the Rockets (20-2) handled neighboring Hanover 61-44 in the front end of Friday’s twinbill.

Central York and Eastern York will meet in Tuesday’s late game.

Jacquez Casiano posted 14 points and Montrel Morgan finished with 13 for York High (12-10), which will begin defense of its two District 3-AAAA titles on Feb. 17 at Carlisle — if the 3-AAAA power ranking numbers posted Friday hold.

And while the Bearcats bested Northeastern on Dec. 23 at home by a 78-67 count, Sowers’ ice-cold outfit found itself down 11-0 with just over three minutes to play in the opening quarter. Although York was able to whittle its deficit to six points on a Morgan trey, the rest of the night quickly became forgettable for the YAIAA I entry.

Conversely, the Bobcats were revved up and ready to put their stamp on Friday night’s game while exorcising whatever demons were still lingering from an earlier matchup that Eyster said included plenty of lowlights.

“That was the worst 10-12 minutes of basketball these guys have ever played in their lives,” Eyster recalled from meeting No. 1. “We wanted them to see how bad they were and wanted them to recognize that, ‘Hey, we’re not that bad. That’s not us. We want to win. We’re in the tournament and we want to win the tournament.

“We played really well. They didn’t make shots,” added Eyster, referring to a York bunch that was just 5-for-31 from the floor in the first half and 8-for-44 from the field through the first three quarters. “So it led to our transition.”

“It’s the best we’ve played all season,” Reynolds said. “We were hitting and playing defense. That’s what we had to do, we had to play defense and rebound. We took them off the glass and our offense cut to open spots just like we’d been practicing.”

Even more amazing was Northeastern’s ability to expand its lead in the final six minutes of the opening half from 26-11 to 47-16 with the 6-5 Nwandu and the hard-working Reynolds parked on the bench for much of that stretch.

“A lot of guys contributed,” Nwandu said. “I’m really happy with my team’s effort. Everybody played amazing. Everybody came to play, so I’m just happy with that.”

Mulbah was the linchpin, using the dribble to penetrate to the tin and score or find a teammate for an easy look. And when Mulbah wasn’t finishing or facilitating, he was accruing floorburns rapidly and keeping the Bobcats operating at a full boil.

“The other guys are learning that Fred can get really deep,” Eyster said. “Sometimes he’s out of control and we’re not sure if it’s going to be a pass or a shot, so you better go clean it up or something. … We were solid. We were prepared to play.”

“He’s a great player and I’m so happy for him,” Nwandu said. “As a sophomore, he does what he can. Hit the glass, hustle, he hustles all the time.

“He does everything he can do.”

Seven players scored in the opening half as Northeastern used its ball movement and a devastating fastbreak to deflate the usually confident Bearcats, pull them out of their 3-2 zone and expand the lead in exponential fashion.

Northeastern’s collective roll continued after the break, too, as the Bobcats capped a whirlwind rush with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter when Nwandu flushed Maxfield’s alley-oop delivery and make it 62-21.

“We’ve been trying to play fast all year long,” Reynolds said. “And last time we played them, we played into their hands. Today, they played into ours.”

Game definitely in hand for a Northeastern side that also outboarded York 36-22.

“We weren’t the nail tonight,” Eyster said. “We were the hammer.”

Spring Grove uses strong third to claim opener
Up by just four points at the halftime break, Spring Grove quickly turned its seemingly tenuous 26-22 advantage into a comfortable 50-28 cushion some eight minutes later when Brooks bagged a full-court heave to close the third.

A 21-2 salvo that featured contributions from a number of Rockets — Drew Gordon scored seven points, Grant Wierman bagged a pair of treys, Brooks collected a pair of buckets, while Darin Gordon and Jon Sager each added deuces — forced Hanover to shelve its zone and triangle-and-two sets for an overmatched man scheme.

And when the 6-1 Brooks snagged a rebound just before the horn and cleanly drained a full-court heave that had the full house in a frenzy — Brooks also dished out three of his five assists in the third — a combustible Spring Grove side was sitting on a 22-point advantage that never was threatened.

Brooks also was demonic at the defensive end, using his quick hands to force several early steals that were turned into points. His length and quickness also gave him an edge while holding Kyle Krout to 10 points, five in the first three quarters.

“Eli can defend … and he can defend multiple positions,” said Spring Grove coach James Brooks, Eli’s father. “He’s a lot stronger than people give him credit for and it’s probably my fault because I used to put him on big guys when he was going through middle school. … He’s used to that physical power.”

Brooks scored 11 of his game-high 25 in the opening quarter as the slow-starting Rockets found themselves tied 11-all after eight minutes. He added five more in the second quarter as Spring Grove snared its 26-22 lead at the half.

“You never know with our group, because everyone can score,” Eli Brooks said when asked about his quick start. “Everybody can score on our team and it’s just who’s hot at the beginning. Darin could be hot, I could be hot, we had Drew Gordon play very well in the third quarter and helped us get on that run.

“Just letting the game come to everybody is a big factor,” Eli Brooks added. “Just settling into the atmosphere.”

Hunter Martz topped Nate Myers’ Nighthawks (16-7) with 13 points. Ticketed for the District 3-AA playoffs and a matchup on Feb. 20 at Upper Dauphin, Hanover also picked up 10 rebounds and five assists from guard Will McQueen.

“I think it was good that we had two different styles of halves,” James Brooks admitted, referring to the slower first and the rapid-fire second when his Rockets lifted off and opened things up. “It worked.”

“The main thing is just getting to the next game,” Eli Brooks added. “Just moving forward as a team and as an individual.”