By Steve Blackledge
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The best high school boys basketball team in Columbus taught a lesson last night to the nation’s No. 1-ranked team. It went like this:
One can amass an awesome collection of major college-bound talent from around the world, but there’s still something to be said for good defense, execution, hustle, poise and motivation.
With its second-best player, Ohio State-bound senior J.D. Weatherspoon, on the bench because of a sprained ankle, Northland shut down and stunned Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nev., 53-52 before a packed house in Otterbein College’s Rike Center and a nationwide television audience.
It snapped a 44-game win streak by the Pilots, the reigning national champions, and enhanced the status of a talented Vikings team shooting for its second straight Division I state title….
…More so than any time in his career, Jared Sullinger carried the Vikings (2-0) on his shoulders, flashing his considerable one-on-one skills.
“I was in a comfort zone, and Trey Burke made some great decisions to feed me the ball in the right spots,” Sullinger said.
Satch Sullinger conceded that he entrusted the offense to Burke, a junior headed to Penn State.
“I can’t take any credit for calling those plays,” he said. “Trey’s a baller and he decided to spread the floor and keep leaning on Jared. In a game of this magnitude, you go with the horse that brought you.”
Read it all: Northland topples country’s No.1 team | The Columbus Dispatch.
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