By AMELIO RODRIGUEZ
Niles Daily Star

For one quarter Tuesday night, the Niles varsity basketball team was chasing visiting Battle Creek Harper Creek.

That didn’t last long.

The Vikings held a commanding 51-32 differential in scoring over the final three quarters en route to a 60-44 win over the Beavers.

The home team trailed by a score of 12-9 after the first eight minutes of play. Senior David Garner paced the Vikings with five of his game-high 21 points in the first stanza.

The second period would see the Beavers increase their lead to 19-11 with 4:21 to play after a 3-point play by junior Jamie Walker. With 3:29 left to play in the first half, Niles would get a lay-up from Matthew McLaughlin, and that sparked the first run for the Vikings.

Myles Busby would steal the in-bounds pass and get his second consecutive assist, this time a 3-point basket by McLaughlin, cutting the lead to 19-16.

Following a Harper Creek timeout, and subsequent turnover, Busby would get his third straight assist. This time Austin Parks would knock down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 19 with 2:30 to play.

Busby would then get in on the act himself, scoring a lay-up and a 3-point basket to give the home team a three point lead with 1:17 to play at 24-21. Niles would add another bucket as time expired in the half to take a 26-22 lead into the break.

The visitors would bounce back in the third period and outscore the host team by a tally of 20-15 in the third to take a one point advantage into the final eight minutes, 42-41.

The final stanza was all Niles as six players got into the scorebook. The hosts would start the fourth and final period on a 10-0 run to take a 51-42 lead. With 3:51 remaining in the game, Harper Creek would score its first basket of the period to make the score 51-44. Niles would score the last nine points, outscoring the opponent 19-2 over the final eight minutes of play.

Niles had two big runs that put this game away, a 15-3 run to end the first half, and a 19-2 run to end the game.

“Our zone defense paid some dividends for us in the fourth, but our man defense was awful throughout” Niles coach Todd Pawielski said.

Offensively, Niles only missed four shots in the fourth quarter.

“This team does a great job of sharing the ball,. We had some great passes from Myles Busby, Matthew McLaughlin and Austin Parks, and they really do a good job of getting us the best shots we can,” he also noted.

Niles improves to 12-4 on the season, while Harper Creek falls to 3-10.

HARPER CREEK 44
Jamie Walker 4 1-1 9, Kenny Bass 1 1-2 3, Jake Smith 3 2-3 8, Quincy Armstrong 0 0-2 0, Taylor Rowe 3 0-0 6, Caleb Trumbull 6 0-0 12, Kody Carson 1 0-0 2, Brandon Newling 2 0-0 4, Trevor Blattner 0 0-0 0, Brad Hicks 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 4-8 44
NILES 60
Myles Busby 5 1-2 12, Austin Parks 4 1-2 10, Mitch Peterek 2 2-2 6, David Garner 10 1-4 21, Matt McLaughlin 3 2-2 9, Nick Lucero 0 0-2 0, Quintin Irby 1 0-0 2, Jordan Potthoff 0 0-0 0, Taylor Campbell 0 0-0 0, Riley Robson 0 0-0 0, Justin Potthoff 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 25 7-15 60

Harper Creek 12 22 42 44
Niles 9 26 41 60
3-point baskets: Harper Creek (none), Niles 3 (Busby, Parks, McLaughlin). Total fouls: Harper Creek 14, Niles 10. Varsity records: Harper Creek 3-11, Niles 12-4. J.V. score: Harper Creek 48, Niles 33