BEAVERCREEK — After a close first quarter Northmont trailed 19-18 entering the second period Thursday night at Beavercreek.

The next eight minutes proved to be the Thunderbolts undoing as they abandoned their game plan and struggled to score.

The Beavers put up 14 points while Northmont only managed to generate eight as Beavercreek took a 33-26 halftime lead en route to a 69-57 victory.

“We aborted what we deemed our game plan was early on in the first quarter,” said Northmont coach Darnell Hoskins.

Northmont took a 2-0 lead on a bucket inside by Cedric Works. Beavercreek missed its first shot, but after a Northmont turnover the Beavers got a basket by Liam Gluck and took a 4-2 lead on a layup by Owen Roether.

Victor Drummond drained a three-pointer to put the T’bolts back on top 5-4. After that Northmont players lost their footing on three consecutive possessions on an apparently slippery floor.

“We scored the first bucket of the game on a designed play,” Hoskins said. “We knew they were a team that liked to switch out defensive coverage and we felt like that could be a competitive edge for us by pounding the ball inside because we felt like we were bigger inside. We scored like clockwork the first part of the game, but we never went back to the well again.

“It was overly shocking to us as a staff because that is what we had implanted in them, that this would be our competitive advantage,” Hoskins continued. “When a defense shows us something different, we are too quick to abort what we have practiced over and over again.”

Both teams scored 15 points in the third quarter with the Beavers leading 48-41 entering the final period. Beavercreek out-scored Northmont 21-16 in the fourth to secure the 12 point win.

Williams scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half while Kaden Ellerbe scored 10 and Liam Gluck had eight in the final two periods to pace Beavercreek.

Javen Vaughn led Northmont with 16 points including seven in the fourth quarter and B.J. Hatcher finished with 13.

Hoskins stressed that his players need to stick to the game plan.

“We don’t let plays develop. We are too quick to break and go one-on-one and not trust the system and that has kind of been our Achilles’ heel all year long. It just gets exposed by better teams, and tonight was no exception,” Hoskins added.

“We’ve got to fix that first, to get guys to trust the system, trust the development of plays and then take more pride on getting multiple stops on the defensive end of the floor.”

NMT 18 08 15 16 – 57

BVC 19 14 15 21 – 69

Northmont: B.J. Hatcher 5-2-13, Victor Drummond 1-0-3, D.J. Williams 1-0-2, Da’lin Wilkins 3-0-6, Danny Sluterbeck 1-0-3, Duece Cortner 1-0-2, Javen Vaughn 6-2-16, Chisom Ibe 2-0-4, Brady Weaver 2-0-6, Cameron Tyree 1-0-2. Totals: 23-4-57.

Beavercreek: Lance Casewell 3-2-8, Kaden Ellerbe 6-6-18, Liam Gluck 5-5-15, Owen Roether 3-0-6, Isaiah-Michael Williams 10-1-22. Totals: 27-14-69.

Three-point field goals: Northmont 7 (Vaughn 2, Weaver 2, Drummond, Hatcher, Sluterbeck); Beavrcreek1 (Williams).

Records: Northmont 4-4 (2-4), Beavercreek 5-1 (4-1).

Reach Ron Nunnari by email: [email protected].