North Montgomery boys basketball is saving some of its best basketball for when it matters most. North Montgomery has won five of their last eight games and now looks to carry that momentum into the post-season. The Chargers are one of seven teams competing in the Class 3A Sectional 22 which is hosted at Case Arena in Frankfort and come in with an overall record of 10-13.
The Chargers were the lone team to draw the bye into the semi-finals next Friday and will take on 18-6 Twin Lakes in the first game at 6 p.m after the Indiana won a 56-54 thriller by hitting the game-winning shot with .9 seconds to go vs Western on Tuesday.
North Montgomery’s success over the past month has come mainly on the defensive side of the ball. Dating back to their Jan. 26 win over Western Boone, the Chargers are giving up just 40.6 point per game. It’s something that has really caught the attention of Charger coach Chad Arnold.
“We’re really starting to play much harder and competing on the defensive end,” Arnold said. “We need to continue to have that same mindset as we get ready for the sectional. If you play hard in games that will always give you a chance to win. Having that bye allows us to get some more rest and get healthy while getting prepared for whoever we might see on Friday.”
The Chargers have been led by junior Kelby Harwood offensively this season. Harwood scores 13.3 points per game while grabbing 6.1 rebounds and dishing out 3.3 assists. Senior sharpshooter Jarrod Kirsch scores right around nine points and averages 1.2 steals. Big man Noah Hopkins is the anchor of the Charger defense and also scores 7.3 points per game, grabs 3.8 rebounds and is the team leader with six charges taken this season. Kirsch has take five of his own. Cam Enlow (6.2 ppg) has started to heat up from long range for the Chargers while Ross Dyson (3.8 ppg, 2.5 rebs, 2.5 asts), Jack Warren and Corbin Meadows have all give the Chargers valuable minutes.
North Montgomery is also having the best season since Arnold’s first year with the Chargers when they won 13 games.
While the Chargers have been playing much better defense the last month of the season, there’s still areas where Arnold would like to see his team improve as they prepare for post-season play.
“We still have some things to work out offensively,” he said. “We’ve got to still get better moving the ball from side to side and having our cuts to the basket be harder and crisper. If we can do those things then I think we can be a tough team to beat with how we’re competing defensively.”
