Big fourth quarter pushes Nouvel boys basketball team to 64-53 win over Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest

Four players scored in double digits for NCC, led by junior Chris Lemanek (16-PTS, 15-REB) and senior Peter Snyder (11-PTS, 10-REB) who each recorded a double-double for the Panthers, while senior Tate Hausbeck (13-PTS, 9-REB) and junior T.J. Raedy (14-PTS, 5-REB) also helped lead the Nouvel (1-2) boys basketball team to a 64-53 victory over Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest H.S. inside the Nouvel gym in Saginaw township tonight. 

 

In a 52-30 loss to Valley Lutheran H.S. last week, NCC failed to score a single point in the third quarter, making just 11 of its 22 (50%) free throw attempts; whereas tonight, the Panthers scored 10-points in the third quarter, before outscoring the Crusaders 20-7 in the final quarter, while drastically improving from the stripe, making 18 of its 26 (69%) free throw attempts.

 

Lemanek scored 7 of his team high 16-points in the first period, pushing the Panthers to a 19-16 first quarter lead over the Crusaders, who drained four 3-pointers, accounting for 12 of its 16-points in the first 8-minutes. 

 

Lutheran Northwest battled back in the second quarter to take a 35-34 halftime lead behind senior Zach Ponder, who scored 8 of his 11-points in the second quarter.

 

Crusader senior Jeremy Morrison then dropped 5 of his 13-points in the third quarter, building a 46-44 lead over NCC after three quarters of play.  

 

The fourth quarter would become the difference in the game, as NCC outscored the Crusaders 20-7 in the final 8-minutes, led by Snyder and Raedy, who each poured in 5-points apiece respectively, followed by Lemanek and Hausbeck, who each added 4-points apiece respectively, while senior Justin Kuligowski scored the other 2-points in the final quarter.

 

Lemanek (4/8 free throws) finished with 16-points, 15-boards, 2-assists, 1-steal, and 1-block to lead the Panthers, followed by Snyder (3/6 free throws) with 11-points, 10-boards, 1-assist, and 1-block. 

 

Hausbeck (6/6 free throws) finished with 13-points, 9-boards, 2-assists, and 1-block, while Raedy (5/6 free throws) added 14-points, 5-rebounds, and 1-assist to round out the Panthers' top four scorers.

 

NCC junior Jacob Burr drained two 3's for 6-points, along with 1-assist, 1-rebound, and 1-steal, while brother's Josh (2-assists) and Justin (1-assist) Kuligowski each scored 2-points apiece respectively.

 

Lutheran Northwest senior Jake Grunewald led his team with 14-points, followed by Morrison with 13-points, and Ponder, who added 11-points for the Crusaders. 

 

The Panthers will now have 7-days off, before making a visit to Sanford, MI for a 7 pm away game against Sanford Meridian H.S. next week.