|
NCA Jets Outlast Bark River-Harris To Win District
 STEPHENSON---It won't be the biggest trophy on display at the North Central High School come Monday. But the Class D district championship won by the Jets came over their biggest rivals Friday night, and it serves as a stepping stone to bigger things. The two-time defending state champion Jets shook off a stubborn Bark River-Harris Broncos team to win the district title, 79-60, in Stephenson. It was the Jets' fifth straight district championship, and sent the boys into Monday's regional in Negaunee. "I know that it was expected, but still, to get to this point, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication," NCA Head Coach Adam Mercier said. "Bark River came and brought it. They shot the ball really well. They came at us, and it was great to see their juniors play well. But I thought our guys perservered and played a really good second half."  North Central led, 14-11, after the first quarter, and pulled away to a 37-25 halftime lead. "We came in here tonight, and we dominated," NCA senior Dawson Bilski said. "I mean, they shot the ball well, and they played hard, so hats off to them. But the better team came out." Jason Whitens led NCA with 23 points, while fellow seniors Bilski added 20 points and Bobby Kleiman chipped in 14 points. BR-H got 15 points from Ben Schultz, while Jace Briggs and Ryan Arndt each scored 14. NCA will face Dollar Bay in the Class D regional semifinals Monday night (7:45 ET/6:45 CT) at Negaunee HIgh School. The first semifinal will see Rapid River take on Ewen-Trout Creek at 6:00 ET. You can hear both games live on WUPF-FM (Eagle 107.3), and on-line at www.radioresultsnetwork.com, with the pre-game show at about 5:45 ET. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to hear post-game interviews with Mercier, Whitens, and Bilski.  |
