Lineup intact, Polar Bears look to rebound in D-II tournament
Northridge’s big win over Madison has spirits high.
His returning lineup loaded with high-end experience, Northridge boys basketball coach Jeff Lisath anticipated the Polar Bears making a high school spotlight return this season.
That hadn’t happened since 2015 when Northridge zoomed through the Southwestern Buckeye League on a 24-3 ride that was derailed by Chaminade Julienne in a Division III regional semifinal.
However, preseason injuries and a suspension resulted in a 3-3 start, but only delayed that optimism. Since then it’s been all good, including a season-defining 58-56 upset win at Middletown Madison last week that prevented the Mohawks from securing an outright SWBL Buckeye Division title.
“We needed a big road win and that was the game,” reflected Lisath, a former Portsmouth High School All Ohioan who played for Darrell Hedric at Miami University and is in his sixth season at Northridge. “We felt we had to find a way to win and the kids bought into it.”
Senior guard Twon Hines is Northridge’s leader. He’s second (21.2) to Darren Rubin of Oakwood (22.0) among SWBL scoring leaders. Also a standout in football who’s generating NCAA D-II interest, Hines was first-team All SWBL in basketball the last two seasons.
His late 3-pointer was the winning basket at Madison (18-3). That’s the kind of takecharge leadership Lisath has enjoyed watching develop over the years. A 6-foot-1 speedster, Hines has scored double digits in all but 10 of 67 career games and put a career-high 35 on Monroe in the season opener for the Polar Bears’ depleted lineup.
Charles Drewery, a 6-3 senior, adds 14.1 points and 8.9 rebounds.
“When the other guys were out he basically carried us,” Lisath said of Hines. “From that point on, he faced a box-and-1 or some kind of gimmick defense until we got Charles back. We have a dual threat now.”
Other key Bears are junior Darryl Story (9.8 points), senior Robbie Turner (6.6) and senior Jared Lewis (5.8).
Northridge (13-6, 8-3) brings an eight-game win streak against visiting Preble Shawnee (9-12, 6-5) in its final SWBL Buckeye contest tonight. The Polar Bears complete the regular season with a bang, hosting Stivers (15-4), a No. 2 seed in the upcoming D-III sectional, on Saturday.
Northridge is a No. 4 seed in the D-II sectional at Springfield. Like many other teams, the Bears were affected by the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s competitive balance initiative, but only because other teams were bumped up to D-III, which pushed Northridge up to D-II.
Still, Lisath likes the Polar Bears’ shot at a deep playoff run. “We’re hoping for that,” he said. “We have a veteran team and some of the kids have been through the (postseason) wars, so they know what it takes to get ready going into the tournament.”
The girls postseason started this week and the boys will begin next week.
■ Madison (18-3, 10-1) has clinched a share of the SWBL Buckeye title. Waynesville (14-7, 9-2) can join in that championship fun by defeating visiting Madison tonight.
It’s the same for SWBL Southwestern leader Brookville (17-3, 8-3), which must win at Valley View (7-13) tonight to clinch an outright divisional title. Bunched in second are Franklin, Monroe and Oakwood, all at 7-4.
■ Trotwood-Madison (192, 14-0) of the GWOC American South is the only team to have clinched an outright GWOC title. Butler (American North) and Springfield (National East) have clinched shares. Butler (192, 12-2) must win at Tippecanoe (7-14) tonight for an outright title. Springfield (138, 10-2), which hosts Trotwood in what should be a sellout, will share a title with tonight’s Wayne (12-8, 9-2) at Centerville (15-5, 9-2) winner.
Miamisburg (15-6, 5-5) and Lebanon (10-11, 5-5) share the National West lead with one game remaining tonight.
■ Bradford girls 65, Yellow Springs 29: Angie Smith concluded a spectacular freshman season by scoring 16 points for the losing Bulldogs (11-12) in the D-IV sectional at Brookville on Thursday. Smith led the Metro Buckeye Conference in scoring (24.5) and steals (5.4), and tallied 31 or more points seven times