SHORT GAP, W.Va. — No. 5 Frankfort celebrated Senior Night on Tuesday, and the two senior Falcons made it count in a 58-45 win over Northern.
“We played well enough to win tonight, so we’re happy we got win number 13,” Frankfort head coach Scott Slider said. “But they battled us, they battled us a lot tougher than what I think we expected they would.”
Cam Layton and Cam Lynch were recognized before the game.
“Cam Layton’s put a ton of work in over the years,” Slider said. “He wants to play at the next level. With that said, he’s constantly out there working on his game and the kids know that. He’s stepped up for us defensively since the South Harrison game. When he stepped up defensively, his offensive game has gotten so much better.”
Midway through the first quarter, the Huskies (10-12) were called for a travel on a loose ball.
Darius Gray set up Jeremy Phillips on the other end for a jumper to give the Falcons (13-6) a 6-5 lead.
Phillips scored 10 points with a steal in the game.
Northern responded with a 6-2 run to take an 11-8 lead. Luke Ross recorded a steal and Abe Schilpp set up Alex Knauff for an and-one layup.
“We played a heck of a game,” Northern head coach Ron Opel said. “That’s a heck of a team. That’s the first game we actually were able to compete for four quarters. I’ve said several times we fall asleep for a quarter. We put four quarters together, played the way I knew we could all season long.”
Schilpp finished with nine points, a steal and a block.
The Huskies ended the quarter on another 6-2 run and led 16-10.
“On Senior Night, I think sometimes there’s some emotions,” Slider said. “They run through our kids heads. So we’re not as focused on what we’re supposed to do in game situations. It kind of got us off on a bad start.”
Robbie Rollman hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds for Northern. He scored all seven of his points in the first quarter.
“That’s huge, anytime you have a momentum bucket like that,” Opel said. “You always want to build off that. I thought that’s what we were able to do.”
Frankfort opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run. Layton scored twice and assisted Lynch on a 3-pointer to retake the lead at 20-18 with 3:50 left in the first half.
The Huskies retook the lead after a steal by Devin McKenzie. Cole Folk hit McKenzie who knocked down a 3-pointer to give Northern a 23-20 lead with 2:56 remaining in the half.
McKenzie led Northern with 13 points and a steal.
“He kind of lost his confidence towards the middle of the season,” Opel said. “I’ve been telling him, keep shooting. It’ll come, it started to drop for him.”
That would be the Huskies final lead as the Falcons quickly answered on an and-one layup by Gray off a Bryson McKenzie assist.
McKenzie set up Gray with a perfect back door pass, leading to Gray completing the three-point play to go up 24-23.
In the final seconds, Jake Layton recorded a steal and drew a foul. He split a pair of free throws to give Frankfort a 25-23 halftime lead.
The Falcons struggled at the free-throw line in the first half, shooting 3 of 10.
“I wish I knew,” Slider said of the free-throw shooting issues. “We shot 29 free throws. We’ve had some games in the high 70s into the 80 percent at the free-throw line. We just did not feel comfortable at the line tonight.”
While Frankfort led the entire third quarter, Northern kept it within two possessions for most of it.
The Falcons’ biggest lead was 38-30 with 41 seconds left.
The Huskies cut it to 38-32 heading into the fourth on a pull up jumper by Kyle Broadwater off a Wally Brands assist.
“We knew they were going to make a run, they made a run,” Opel said. “Rather than us putting our tail between our legs, we kept fighting back.”
Leading 40-36 early in the fourth quarter, Frankfort started to create a cushion.
Gray blocked a jumper that led to an and-one put back by Uriah Cutter. He completed the three-point play to extend the Falcons lead to 43-36.
About 30 seconds later, Gray sent a full court pass to Cam Layton who drew a foul.
He hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back up to eight points.
Northern cut it to four points on a pair of free throws by Folk, but were unable to get any closer.
“That’s what kept us in the game the entire time, our ability to keep fighting,” Opel said.
Frankfort went on an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 52-42 with 1:30 left.
The Huskies started to foul, and the Falcons went 6 of 8 at the line in the final minute to seal the win.
The two seniors were both key for Frankfort in the final eight minutes.
Layton scored eight of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. He also had four assists and a steal in the game.
Lynch stepped up in the fourth quarter with two crucial rebounds off missed free throws.
“He’s been doing a very good job of us pulling the board down,” Slider said. “He’s put himself in the right spot many times. Him securing rebounds have been huge.”
The two rebounds led to a Lynch score on a put back and a pair of free throws that helped Frankfort pull away.
Lynch finished with 11 points, three assists and three blocks.
The Falcons head to Hampshire on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“They’re gonna be tough, it’s always a pretty good fight over there no matter what,” Slider said. “Danny (Alkire) said it’s always a close game, always in the 40s. That’s not to our advantage. We want to try and get the score up, at least on our end.”
The Huskies get two weeks off before the Maryland playoffs open on February 27.