Nick Gonnella
Greensburg Daily News
Trafalgar —
The North Decatur boys basketball team was unable to hold a first-half lead in a conference game that was close throughout the first half.
The visiting Chargers fell to the Braves 74-61 Saturday afternoon, dropping to 3-14 on the season and 2-4 in the Mid-Hoosier Conference.
North led 17-15 after the first quarter, but the Braves went on a 24-15 run in the second quarter to lead 39-32 at the half.
North again outscored the Braves 17-15 in the third quarter, but the Braves again outscored the Chargers 20-12 in the final eight minutes.
Senior Jason Kirchhoff led North with a career-high 19 points, including a team-high three shots from 3-point range. Freshman Zach Johnson followed with 16 (two triples), while senior Kevin Geis added nine (3-for-4 at the line).
Senior John Hammersmith scored six and freshman Andrew Hocker scored five (with a trey), while junior Brock Ricke’s four and freshman Dayne Lecher’s two rounded out the scoring. Ricke added a triple for North.
North made seven 3-pointers and shot 6-for-9 from the foul line.
North’s junior varsity squad fell to the Braves 46-42 in the first game. The score was tied at 8-all after the first quarter, but the Chargers led 19-12 on the strength of an 11-4 second-quarter run. Creek, though, outscored North 34-23 in the second half for the final margin.
Evan Wallpe led his team with 15 points, including 5-for-6 from the foul line. Luke Badgley shot 4-for-6 from the line and scored 12 points. Austin Brown scored seven (including a 3-pointer), Donovan Meyer scored a triple, and Brian Williamson and Arek Holloway each added two. Eric Moorman chipped in a free throw.
The JV Chargers hit two 3-pointers and shot 10-for-14 (71 percent) from the foul line.
North next travels to Southwestern (Shelby) (7-10 overall, 3-3 MHC) Thursday night for another conference game, then hosts South Decatur (11-5 overall, 2-4 MHC) for Senior Night.
Contact Nick Gonnella at (812) 663-3111, x7003.
