LEWISBURG —Tri-County North’s boys’ basketball team put together its most complete game of the season on Friday, Jan. 27.
The end result was the Panthers’ first win in the Cross County Conference — 59-43 over visiting Newton.
“Friday night against Newton we came out and played our best team game of the season. Everyone on the team contributed in a positive way,” North coach Joe Smith said.
Gabe Brinson set the tone for North, scoring 12 of his game-high 20 points as the Panthers jumped out to a 19-10 lead.
North led 32-22 at the half. The Panthers extended their lead to 43-30 after three.
“Every punch that Newton gave us we were able to withstand. We were able to consistently get good shots and were able to prevent offensive rebounds,” Smith said.
In addition to Brinson’s 20-point effort, Zach Edgin scored 10, Josh Shephard added nine and James Fry chipped in with eight
North opened the week with a 45-32 loss to visiting Dixie on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
“We knew they would be a scrappy team. We just didn’t have the intensity we needed in the first half,” Smith said.
The Panthers trailed 9-4 after the first quarter and 21-14 at halftime.
North got to within two in the third quarter, but the Greyhounds went on a run and the Panthers never got closer than five the remainder of the game.
Smith said turnovers proved costly as his team committed 16 on the night.
Gabe Brinson paced the Panthers with 17 points and Brian Stinson added nine.
North is scheduled to play at Mississinawa Valley on Friday and at National Trail on Saturday. The boys will play at 7 p.m. and the North and Trail girls will play at 5:30 p.m.
