On Friday, the North Central Panthers faced the Lawrence North Wildcats in a battle between two of the state's top teams. North Central suffered a rough 73-53 loss at the hands of Lawrence North. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for North Central in their matchups with Lawrence North: they've now lost seven in a row.
When it comes to explaining why North Central lost, one person who can't be blamed is Tim Williams. Despite the final result, he scored 18 points along with five rebounds and two blocks. That's the first time this season that Williams posted two or more blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Nijah Jewell, who scored ten points.
Even though they lost, North Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Lawrence North's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kobi Bowles led the charge by scoring 15 points along with five rebounds and two blocks. Another player making a difference was Azavier Robinson, who scored 12 points along with six assists and five rebounds.
North Central's loss dropped their record down to 8-4. As for Lawrence North, the win for they keeps them at an undefeated 13-0.
North Central will look to defend their home court on Friday against Lawrence North at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Lawrence North's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season. They won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Franklin Central at 7:00 p.m. on January 13th. Franklin Central will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Indiana Rankings (they are ranked 40th, while Lawrence North is ranked second).
