Northeastern continues its perfect start
The Northeastern boys' basketball team has been rolling so far this season.
Coming into Friday's Division II battle against York Suburban, the Bobcats were beating opponents by an average of 24.6 points per game.
After 32 minutes of action on Friday, Northeastern continued its undefeated start behind an impressive, 84-41, victory.
"Maybe our most complete effort," Bobcats head coach Jon Eyster said. "Our defense really ignited our offense. We were able to turn them over and speed them up a little bit, and that kind of fueled our offense."
With the score tied at 5-all with 4:17 left in the first quarter, the Bobcats' (6-0, 4-0 Division II) pressure defense started to pick up and forced several Trojan turnovers, which led to Bobcat points.
By the end of the first quarter, Northeastern led 19-7. It was 25-7 just a minute into the second quarter.
"We want to play hard every minute. You don't want to waste your time," Eyster said. "We preach to them about playing fast and playing hard."
At halftime, the Bobcats led 41-16 and by the end of the third quarter, the lead stretched to 66-30.
And has been the case all season, the Bobcats shared the ball offensively, led by Kobi Nwandu's 16 points.
"Teams can't key on me," Nwandu said of the balanced attack. "It makes it easier for me to drive and attack."
Eight Bobcats scored, with Donovian Maxfield (14 points) and Jeff Reynolds (13 points) also finishing in double figures.
"We have a lot of shooters, and when you have a lot of shooters, you are harder to guard," Eyster said. "We feel like we have eight starters. They all give us some different things."
The Bobcats were effective from everywhere on court. They hit six 3-pointers, 24 field goals and were 18-of-22 at the foul line, all of which made their visiting student section very vocal.
"We feel their energy," Nwandu said of the strong contingent of Bobcat fans, who even serenaded the rest of the crowd with "Silent Night" with 2:30 to play in the game.
York Suburban (3-5, 2-3) was led by Donovan Mears' 11 points. Thomas Merkle hit three 3's.
Northeastern (84)
Coleman 2 2-2 6, Greene 0 0-0 0, Butler 0 0-0 0, Donovian Maxfield 5 3-3 14, Fred Mulbah 5 5-5 15, Jeff Reynolds 5 2-4 13, Kobi Nwandu 5 5-6 16, Rizzuto 2 1-2 6, McCarter 3 0-0 6, Hersh 0 0-0 0, Moody 0 0-0 0, Zirkle 3 0-0 8, Eyster 0 0-0 0. Totals — 30 18-22 84.
York Suburban (41)
Dowling 0 1-2 1, Thomas 1 2-2 4, Donovan Mears 5 0-0 11, Merkle 9 0-0 9, Trust 1 4-7 6, Igo 0 0-2 0, Bowman 0 0-0 0, Shultz 2 1-4 5, Weinstein 2 1-1 5, Mailman 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 9-18 41.
Northeastern _19 _ 22 _ 25 _18 _ — _ 84
York Suburban _7 _9_14_11_ —_ 41
3-point goals — NE 6 (Zirkle 2, Maxfield, Reynolds, Nwandu, Rizzuto); YS 4 (Merkle 3, Mears).
JV score — Northeastern 53, York Suburban 47