Luke Harmon
When it came down to crunch time Tuesday night, Luke Harmon was the one doing the crunching.
The senior guard scored Columbus North’s final 15 points, including all 12 in the fourth quarter, to allow the Bull Dogs to hang on for a 57-45 win against Roncalli.
Harmon went 7 for 7 from the free-throw line in the final four minutes and finished with a game- and career-high 23 points.
“Free throws are a big part of the game,” Harmon said. “We actually shoot 50 free throws every morning before we go into our first period. So I guess that kind of pays off.”
North (10-5) trailed 19-15 with 5:45 left in the first half when it went on a 30-4 run to take control. That run began with a 9-0 spurt that was followed by a Royals basket that left the Bull Dogs with a 24-21 halftime lead.
After a Harmon 3-pointer and two Roncalli free throws to begin the third quarter, Cooper Horn hit a 3-pointer to spark a run of 18 consecutive points that left North with a 45-23 advantage.
“The first thing was keeping our composure,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “I told the guys in the locker room, they went up 10-3, we never panicked. We knew we were going to get shots, so we just had to stay with what we were doing. We made a couple plays, attacked their zone in some ways. We didn’t panic and chipped away at it.”
The Royals (5-7) didn’t go away, though. They scored the final two points of the third quarter and the first nine of the fourth to cut the lead to 45-34 with 5:15 remaining. But they were unable to get the deficit into single digits.
“I feel like we’re pretty battle tested,” Harmon said. “We’ve been down before, and we’re all very close, and our chemistry is great. So I think we just played with poise and kept our heads in it.”
Horn finished with 16 points for the Bull Dogs. Drew Schiefer added six points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Luke Kegerreis and Trevor Lauck each scored 11 points, and Drew Kegerreis added 10 for Roncalli.
“It’s a great bounce-back because Mooresville (in a win on Friday) was a tight one,” Harmon said. “Roncalli is a great team. They played hard. This is probably one of the most physical games we’ve played all year, and I think it’s just going to help us in the long run
Columbus North 57, Roncalli 45
Roncalli;13;8;4;20;—;45
Columbus North;11;13;21;12;—;57
Roncalli (5-7): Judd Selke 0 0-0 0, Drew Kegerreis 4 0-0 11, Luke Kegerreis 4 0-0 11, Luke Greene 0 2-2 2, Shaun Byrne 0 2-3 2, Nolan Tunny 4 0-0 9, Trevor Lauck 2 7-7 11. Totals: 14 11-12 45.
Columbus North (10-5): Luke Harmon 6 7-7 23, Tyler Blythe 2 0-0 5, Damon Edwards 1 0-0 2, Ty Ferguson 2 0-0 5, Zac Horn 0 0-0 0, Cooper Horn 6 3-3 16, Philip McKinley 0 0-0 0, Blake Osbourne 0 0-0 0, Drew Schiefer 2 2-4 6. Totals: 19 12-14 57.
3-point goals: Roncalli 6 (L. Kegerreis 3, D. Kegerreis 2, Tunny); Columbus North 7 (Harmon 4, Blythe, Ferguson, C. Horn).
