CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Northeast Eagles boys’ basketball team traveled to Montgomery Central High School on Friday night for a matchup with the Indians. MCHS head coach Sam Young played against his former team, and the Indians got the best of the Eagles for a 56-38 inner-city victory.
The emphasis for Central was clear right from the jump: control the pace and play defense. That’s exactly what they did, holding Northeast to only five made field goals and only one three-pointer in the first half.
Meanwhile, Montgomery Central senior forward J’Shaun Ewing made five field goals himself in the first half, as, the Indians led 28-12 at the break.
The third quarter was more of the same story, with MCHS starting the period on a 13-0 run, and with 11 points from senior guard Jonathon Johnson in the third quarter alone, the Indians amassed a 50-22 lead at the end of three.
“Our game plan was to keep everything in front of us, and they executed that really well,” said Young. “In periods where our offense had struggles, we hung our hats on defense. We have to rebound better, but our kids played hard on that end.”
Northeast stormed out to a 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Destin Jones accounted for five of that 14 in the span, ending the night as the Eagles’ leading scorer with 16 points total. However, the lead was too big to overcome, and the Indians held off the late rally for a win on their home floor.
“It’s a little frustrating with different adversities we seem to put ourselves through,” said Eagles head coach Ivard Brimely. “When we did what we had game planned for, it worked really well; we just have to be more consistent with doing that. We’re putting ourselves through a lot of tests early, to see if we’re gonna be coal or diamond.”
The Indians are off to an impressive 3-2 start, and with a few new transfers and freshmen, they’re starting to put the pieces together for a good team. Despite being in December, for Young and his squad, it’s about continuing to learn from each other as a unit with all the new pieces.
“We had a lot of guys in double digits and really balanced scoring, that’s the sign of a good team,” said Young. “We have a lot of new pieces, and it still feels like we’re in summer camp a little bit, figuring out our team and who excels at what position. We took a good step tonight, but we won’t be where we want to be until the middle of January. However, I’m excited to see what that looks like.”
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