Northwest 70 - West Branch 57

[Yappi]

by starkravingdad

In a "tale of two halves", Northest weathered a storm of first half 3-point shots and dominated the second half to gain a victory over West Branch Friday in Canal Fulton.

West Branch absolutley shot the lights out in the first half. From the opening posession, when Steve McNeely drilled a three from the corner, the Warriors were on fire. NW struggled to get started while WB bombed away, opening a 10-2 lead early. The Indians finally clawed their way to being down by 3 at the end of 1.

The second quarter was more of the same. Rick Pappas heated up too, and he and McNeeley hit shot after shot. The WB lead grew to 29-17 before NW began to produce their trademark defense and rebounding. They closed the gap to 4, but another McNeely three made it 32-25 at the half.

The second half started much like the first, and WB held a 42-32 lead with 3:10 to play in the 3rd. Then - BOOM - a complete reversal of fortune. WB finally cooled down, and NW's defensive pressure forced numerous Warrior turnovers. The Indian's Tyler Krzynowek picked up where McNeely left off, hitting shots from deep in 3-point land. NW cashed in on the turnovers abd controlled the glass, resulting in a 15-0 NW run and a 47-42 Indian lead going into the 4th.

NW never trailed again as they controlled the tempo in the fourth with their motion offense. Some excellent passing led to several lay-ups on possesions lasting 30-40 seconds. NW, once down by 12, pulled away in the final frame to win by 13. Krzynowek led the way as usual with a game high 24 points including 5 three-pointers. Jim Shiplett added a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Coupled with an Alliance loss to Marlington Friday, the Indians take sole posession of first place in the NBC with a 1/2 game lead over Alliance. The Aviators and Indians square off Tuesday night.