The outside shots weren’t falling, so Lake Norman Christian went to Plan B on Friday night.
Actually, it was Plan K -- as in Jonathan Kurtas, the Ospreys’ 7-foot senior center.
Kurtas scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and guard Trey Green hit a pair of big 3-point field goals, as the Ospreys knocked off host Victory Christian 60-57 in overtime.
Most fans would expect a Lake Norman Christian victory to include plenty of points from standout sophomore guard Mikey Williams, but Williams’ shot wasn’t falling Friday night.
“When the outside shots weren’t going in, we went in a different direction,” Lake Norman Christian coach Pat McCarthy said. “Jonathan and Joyful (Hawkins) were massive tonight.”
Hawkins, a 6-7 junior forward, gave the Ospreys (14-4, 2-1 South Piedmont Athletic) added rebounding strength off the bench.
But it was Kurtas who really made the difference.
“There was quite a battle between each team’s big guy,” Victory Christian associate head coach A.J. Jones said. “Their guy really played well.”
McCarthy said, “That’s the 7-foot center we have needed all season. It was kind of a breakout game for him.”
For the Kings (16-7, 2-1), 6-9 center Deiman Reyes scored eight points but grabbed eight rebounds and frequently kept the Ospreys from attacking the basket.
Yet the game wasn’t all about big guys.
Green, a 5-9 sophomore guard, had two big plays.
The first came in the closing 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, with Lake Norman Christian trailing 53-51. Green found himself open on the right corner and sank a 3-pointer. Victory Christian tied the game at 54-54 with one second left, when 6-10 senior Zachary Stone made the first of two free-throw opportunities. He missed the second, though, sending the game to overtime.
Green provided the winning points in the extra session. With the score tied at 57-57, Green took a pass from Josh Bullard and nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner with two seconds left.
Victory Christian’s Lewis Duarte, who scored a game-high 21 points, missed an off-balance 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
“The corner 3 is Trey’s shot,” McCarthy said.
Jones said Victory Christian made too many mistakes.
“We’ve got to learn from a game like this,” he said. “We shot the ball well in the first half. But in the second half, we got away from what we did right in the first half. We started pressing shots, and we made some costly errors. We’ll learn.”
THREE WHO MATTERED
Jonathan Kurtas (Lake Norman Christian): The Ospreys’ 7-foot center had a big game, hitting 9-of-12 from the floor and finishing with 20 points.
Lewis Duarte (Victory Christian): A 6-6 junior forward, Duarte finished with a game-high 21 points and connected on 8-off-11 free throws. He scored all but two of his team’s third-quarter points.
Trey Green (Lake Norman Christian): His 18-point performance included 3-point field goals near the end of regulation and in the closing seconds of overtime.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ Victory Christian led by as much as 10 points in the first half (31-21) and hit 12-of-25 from the floor before intermission. They shot only 26 percent (7-of-27) after halftime.
▪ The two teams are 1-1 against each other this season. Victory Christian won 76-73 on Jan. 12. They are not scheduled to meet again during the regular season.
▪ Lake Norman Christian piled up a 35-23 rebound advantage, thanks in large part to the play of Jonathan Kurtas, Adam Allenspach and Joyful Hawkins.
▪ It was a “what-if” kind of game. In the final 10 seconds of regulation, with Lake Norman Christian winning 54-53, Victory Christian had three chances to tip in a basket. On the third try, the ball became wedged in the rim. Instead, Zachary Stone made 1-of-2 foul shots moments later, trying the game and forcing overtime.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Lake Norman Christian is back in action Saturday, traveling to High Point Christian (2:30 p.m.). Victory Christian plays Tuesday night at North Hills Christian in Salisbury.
Actually, it was Plan K -- as in Jonathan Kurtas, the Ospreys’ 7-foot senior center.
Kurtas scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and guard Trey Green hit a pair of big 3-point field goals, as the Ospreys knocked off host Victory Christian 60-57 in overtime.
Most fans would expect a Lake Norman Christian victory to include plenty of points from standout sophomore guard Mikey Williams, but Williams’ shot wasn’t falling Friday night.
“When the outside shots weren’t going in, we went in a different direction,” Lake Norman Christian coach Pat McCarthy said. “Jonathan and Joyful (Hawkins) were massive tonight.”
Hawkins, a 6-7 junior forward, gave the Ospreys (14-4, 2-1 South Piedmont Athletic) added rebounding strength off the bench.
But it was Kurtas who really made the difference.
“There was quite a battle between each team’s big guy,” Victory Christian associate head coach A.J. Jones said. “Their guy really played well.”
McCarthy said, “That’s the 7-foot center we have needed all season. It was kind of a breakout game for him.”
For the Kings (16-7, 2-1), 6-9 center Deiman Reyes scored eight points but grabbed eight rebounds and frequently kept the Ospreys from attacking the basket.
Yet the game wasn’t all about big guys.
Green, a 5-9 sophomore guard, had two big plays.
The first came in the closing 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, with Lake Norman Christian trailing 53-51. Green found himself open on the right corner and sank a 3-pointer. Victory Christian tied the game at 54-54 with one second left, when 6-10 senior Zachary Stone made the first of two free-throw opportunities. He missed the second, though, sending the game to overtime.
Green provided the winning points in the extra session. With the score tied at 57-57, Green took a pass from Josh Bullard and nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner with two seconds left.
Victory Christian’s Lewis Duarte, who scored a game-high 21 points, missed an off-balance 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
“The corner 3 is Trey’s shot,” McCarthy said.
Jones said Victory Christian made too many mistakes.
“We’ve got to learn from a game like this,” he said. “We shot the ball well in the first half. But in the second half, we got away from what we did right in the first half. We started pressing shots, and we made some costly errors. We’ll learn.”
THREE WHO MATTERED
Jonathan Kurtas (Lake Norman Christian): The Ospreys’ 7-foot center had a big game, hitting 9-of-12 from the floor and finishing with 20 points.
Lewis Duarte (Victory Christian): A 6-6 junior forward, Duarte finished with a game-high 21 points and connected on 8-off-11 free throws. He scored all but two of his team’s third-quarter points.
Trey Green (Lake Norman Christian): His 18-point performance included 3-point field goals near the end of regulation and in the closing seconds of overtime.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ Victory Christian led by as much as 10 points in the first half (31-21) and hit 12-of-25 from the floor before intermission. They shot only 26 percent (7-of-27) after halftime.
▪ The two teams are 1-1 against each other this season. Victory Christian won 76-73 on Jan. 12. They are not scheduled to meet again during the regular season.
▪ Lake Norman Christian piled up a 35-23 rebound advantage, thanks in large part to the play of Jonathan Kurtas, Adam Allenspach and Joyful Hawkins.
▪ It was a “what-if” kind of game. In the final 10 seconds of regulation, with Lake Norman Christian winning 54-53, Victory Christian had three chances to tip in a basket. On the third try, the ball became wedged in the rim. Instead, Zachary Stone made 1-of-2 foul shots moments later, trying the game and forcing overtime.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Lake Norman Christian is back in action Saturday, traveling to High Point Christian (2:30 p.m.). Victory Christian plays Tuesday night at North Hills Christian in Salisbury.
