Northland dominates South, wins second consecutive City League boys basketball title
The Northland boys basketball team took advantage of its entry into the City League championship game, turning in a dominant effort Saturday at East.
Led by junior forward Nehemiah McMorris and sophomore guard King Kendrick, the Vikings (18-4) defended their City League title – and won their 11th since 1999 – by cruising to a 63-46 win over South.
South (16-4) was originally expected to face Linden-McKinley in the championship game, but the Panthers (16-6) were ruled ineligible because they had played the maximum of 22 regular-season games.
Linden and Northland shared the City-North Division championship at 13-1. Under a school district rule used in the event of a tie, Linden normally would have qualified to play South because Northland participated in the game more recently.
“We were super happy,” Northland coach Tihon Johnson. “We prepared as if we were still going to go the whole time just so there was no letdown. My heart goes out to those kids at Linden because they put themselves in position and they had a great season, but my guys did as well. We were prepared and I knew that we would come in and win this game.”
Assistant coach Leo Cleary-Foeller handled head-coaching duties for Northland because Johnson was observing his Sabbath. Johnson sat on the bench but remained in his seat throughout the game.
“We have a brain trust that we believe in,” Johnson said. “Me sitting down was part of my beliefs and a bigger cause. I had trust all the way through.”
Northland led 18-8 after one quarter, 35-22 at halftime and maintained control throughout the second half.
McMorris dominated in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 17 points. Kendrick and Jaden Shoultz each added 16 points.
“This feels amazing,” Kendrick said. “We said we were kings of the city all year. Even when we lost to Linden (49-37 on Feb. 2), we said we were kings of the city. Now that we got this win, we’re kings of the city for real.”
A big performance in this game was nothing new for Kendrick. Last year, he made two free throws with 3.6 seconds left to a cap a 33-point performance as the Vikings beat Africentric 60-58.
Maurice McCall led South with 17 points and LaJames Washington scored 14. The Bulldogs won the City-South Division at 14-0.
“Northland played amazing,” South coach Ramon Spears said. “They were very active and on top of that we had one of our worst shooting days. We were 2 for 28 from 3s. You’re never going to win a game that way.”
Both teams will now prepare for the Division I district tournament, in which South is seeded ninth and Northland is No. 18. Both teams open the tournament March 1.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Northland repeats as Columbus City League boys basketball champion
