Covenant’s boys basketball team endured a roller coaster ride against North Cross Friday night in front of a raucous home crowd. First the Eagles were down. Then they were back in it. Then they were up by a sizeable margin. Then suddenly they were down again and needed Matt Shobe’s heroics to force overtime.
But in overtime the game took another sharp turn as North Cross pulled away for a 73-68 victory.
“We have a young basketball team and a lot of these guys have not been in these situations before,” said Covenant coach Brooks Berry. “So for us to be down early, fight our way back and have a chance to win is a great step in our competitiveness.”
The Eagles struggled in particular when North Cross cranked up the pressure after slipping into a nine-point hole with 3:25 left to play. Covenant went cold for much of the closing three minutes and committed a series of crucial turnovers as North Cross rallied down the stretch.
Covenant found itself down 59-57 with nine seconds to play. They got the ball to Shobe, who finished with 24 points, on the left wing and he went to work, driving toward the baseline and hitting a short jumper just before time expired. A desperation full court heave from North Cross was off target and the bucket forced overtime at 59-59.
But it was the Eagles’ defense that seemed to do them in during overtime.
“Defensively we just didn’t do the little things that it takes to win the game,” Berry said. “We didn’t block out, we didn’t stop penetration, our defense got spread and in a tight game like that every little thing is going to make a difference.”
North Cross pulled away in overtime, with Nariq Bailey hitting a 3-pointer and James Nworah contributing a pair of buckets as the Raiders created separation. Five North Cross players finished the night in double figures with Peyton Bailey leading the way with 19 points, including a 6-for-6 night at the free throw line.
Jordan Lowery had 17 points, Nariq Bailey had 12, Nworah had 12 and Chase Overton had 11.
Covenant got some strong contributions outside of Shobe from Devan McCauley who had 11 points and Josh Klein who finished with eight.
