Northern Tier Sports ReportTROY — The red hot Northeast Bradford boys’ basketball team stayed hot at the Commons Building, pulling away from Troy for a 63-43 win during NTL action Thursday.
“We haven’t beaten Troy since 2019, so this was big,” said NEB coach Paul Burgert. “This was huge for us. We, along with a lot of people, have taken their beatings from Troy over the years. You get up for this game because of their history, and our kids showed up.”
Troy led 11-9 after one, but 20-9 run in the second in favor of NEB put them up 29-20 at the half.
From their they out scored Troy by six in the third quarter, and five in the fourth to secure the win.
“We just needed to relax offensively,” remarked Burgert. “The kids were really pumped for this, and I thought we just were a little jittery at the start.”
NEB shot 54-percent from the field on the night, their second straight strong offensive showing.
“Really, Tuesday against Wyalusing we just really started moving the ball, and finding the open man,” Burgert said. “It started again tonight, and it’s a joy to watch. It’s beautiful basketball.”
Eli Stanton had 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting with five assists, and two steals, to lead NEB, with Clay Wilks adding 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting, plus eight boards.
Mac Burgert added 10 points and four assists, as Dayton Russell had eight points and seven rebounds.
Nate Gross finished with six points, while Dan Barrett had five points, five boards, and four assists.
NEB was short-handed, as well, with Cooper Brown and Landon Knolles out of the line-up.
For Troy, they’ll chalk this up as a learning experience for a young team.
“Northeast came to play,” said Troy coach Craig Sheeley. “They did a really good job putting us in some bad situations. We didn’t respond the way that we hoped we would - it’s a great learning tool going forward, and we’ll use this to springboard us into the next game.”
Spencer Martin had 10 points to lead Troy as Trey Teribury netted eight with four assists.
Josiah Pesesky, Landon Cole, and Evan Allen had six points apiece. Cole added five boards, four assists, and two steals, as Pesesky had two blocks, and Allen nabbed two steals.
Pryor Teribury scored three, while Cameron Morey, and Aiden Lawrence rounded out the scorers with two points each.
It was a group effort for Troy as they took the 2-point lead in the opening frame, with four different players scoring. Trey Teribury led them with five points.
On the other side Russell kept NEB afloat with five points in the quarter.
The switch flipped in the second as the Panthers amassed nine field goals, led by six points from both Stanton and Burgert.
In the third they out scored Troy 16-10 behind seven points from Wilks, while Cole, and Allen had four points each for the Trojans.
NEB then secured the win in the fourth as they out scored the Trojans 18-13 behind seven points from Stanton.
Troy tried to make a run as they hit four 3-balls in the frame, but couldn’t slow down an NEB offense that had eight field goals in the fourth.
The Trojans (3-2) will travel to Wyalusing on Tuesday to open divisional play, then they’ll make a few trips North of the border.
“We have one more with Wyalusing, then we’re a little more worried about Josh Palmer,” said Sheeley. “But it’s coming.”
As for NEB (7-0) they’ll get a good test on Saturday as they travel to Elk Lake with a noon start, with divisional play starting next week as they host NP-Liberty on Tuesday.
“It’s always a grind,” Burgert said. “They know us so well, we just expect battles with them every time, and everyone’s out there trying to win a league title.”
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
