LINDEN — Sagamore Conference rival Danville, the fourth ranked team in 3A, outscored North Montgomery 22-2 in the second quarter propelling the Warriors to a 69-41 victory on the Chargers’ home floor. North Montgomery never threatened any sort of a comeback as they were soundly defeated in all phases of the game.
Charger Coach Chad Arnold was disappointed in his team’s performance, especially after a good week of practice.
“We practiced well all week and I really thought we were ready to compete against a good team like Danville,” Arnold said. “We just didn’t come to compete. You cannot give up layups and offensive rebounds and have a chance to win against a great team like Danville.”
The Chargers did play well early in the game. Keyed by Charger senior guard Alex Wallace’s six points, North Montgomery (7-6. 0-3) battled Danville (12-2, 3-0) to an 8-7 deficit three minutes into the game. However, after a couple of open shots did not fall for North Montgomery, the Warriors were able to finish the quarter strong to take a 17-12 lead after one quarter.
North Montgomery senior Kade Kobel was the only Charger to score in the second period. The Chargers trailed 39-14 at intermission.
The two teams played a closer second half with Danville out-gunning the Chargers 30-27.
Arnold did point out the play of two players off the bench for their performance. Senior Keifer Carmean and junior Logan Kelly received praise from the Charger mentor.
“I thought Keifer played hard and got some nice things accomplished,” Arnold said. “And, I thought Logan came in and gave us a lift.”
The Chargers were led in scoring by senior Preston Shaw’s 13 points. Shaw, was the only North Montgomery player to score double figures.
Danville senior Garrett Fulwider led all scorers with 20 points. Junior Kobe Ward and senior Dillon Ware added 19 and 15 respectively.
Arnold said he told his team he believes in his players but they need to decide their fate for the rest of the season.
“Our guys need to decide if they want to be able to compete against the good teams in the sectional,” Arnold said. “I believe we have the players that can end up being very good. We need to learn to play a full game, which we have not done yet.”
North Montgomery will travel to Sagamore Conference foe Lebanon for a boy-girl doubleheader on Friday. A win at Lebanon would give the Chargers their first conference win. Arnold knows it will be a tough game.
“Lebanon is well-coached and they have a good team,” Arnold said. “But I believe we can go over to Lebanon and compete. Our guys need to play hard and I believe they will.”
Danville 69, North Montgomery 41
Danville 17 22 12 18 — 69
N. Montgomery 12 2 12 15 — 41
Scoring: Danville (12-2, 3-0) Garrett Fulwider 8 4-4 20, Kobe Ward 6 7-10 19, Dillon Ware 6 3-5 15, Sam Comer 2 0-0 5, Braxton Fulwider 2 0-0 5, Tyler Dostin 1 1-2 3, Dominick Wynn 1 0-0 2, Braylon McMahon 0-0 0-0 0, Isaiah Hayse 0-0 0-0 0, Kaleb Stevens 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Wooten 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26 15-21 69, N. Montgomery (7-6, 0-3) Preston Shaw 5 3-3 13, Alex Wallace 2 0-0 6, Zak Searle 1-3 3-6 5, Logan Kelly 2 0-0 5, Keifer Carmean 2-2 0-0 4, Kade Kobel 2 0-0 4, Nick Norman 1 0-0 3, Jaron Bradford 0 0-1 0, Jack Thompson 0 0-0 0, Kolton Scrimmager 0 0-0 0, Jakob Kirsch 0 0-0 0, Braden Martin 0 0-0 0, Jayson Roche 0 0-0 0 Totals 15 6-10 41.
3-point shooting: Danville (Comer, Br. Fulwider), N. Montgomery (Wallace 2, Kelly, Norman).
Rebounds: Danville 31 N. Montgomery 18
Turnovers: Danville 4, North Montgomery 6