JOHNSTOWN — The Northridge High School boys basketball team was looking to give fans an early Christmas present Monday night. Unfortunately for the Vikings, visiting Columbus Academy had a different plan. Columbus Academy controlled the game and defeated Northridge, 58-42.
Columbus Academy started the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back. Northridge fought back late in the first and early in the second quarter, and at one point cut the Academy lead to three points, but the door was slammed shut on a comeback, and Columbus Academy built a 12-point halftime lead, hitting the locker room up 30-18.
“Columbus Academy is a pretty good ball club,” said Northridge head coach John Wheeler. “They moved the ball well and they really shot the ball well. They pushed the ball up the court better than anyone we have played so far.
“We definitely started out very flat offensively and defensively,” he continued. “We missed some layups that could have made it a two- or four-point game at halftime. We probably missed eight layups in the first half. We are getting those kind of shots, we are getting good looks, they just have to fall and right now they are not.”
The second half saw visiting Columbus Academy begin to pull away significantly, and from the start of the third quarter it was apparent Northridge was not going to be able to keep up. Columbus Academy was up by as many as 21 points before Northridge cut the difference to 16 at the final buzzer.
Northridge will take advantage of the holiday break before getting back to action next week. The rest is needed for the team, and Wheeler expects his boys to come back fresh and ready to make some noise.
“We have three days off and the guys are going to come back with a lot of energy,” Wheeler said. “They will get after it for sure. We have a group of guys who can play basketball. They can be as good as they want to be if they make up their mind and come out and put it to them; if they come out and give it everything they’ve got, every night. They can do that; they need to make the decision.”
Northridge was led by Brett Vandervort, who scored 11 points. E.J. Snyder added 10 points and Ryan King chipped in with eight points. Columbus Academy was led by Max Hoster, who had 17 points, and Cameron Baker was right behind him with 14 points.
In junior varsity play, Columbus Academy defeated Northridge, 41-28. Caleb Higgins led Northridge with 11 points and Billy Andrews added five points.
Northridge will play in the Grandview Heights tournament on Monday and Tuesday.
