Most of the sizable crowd Monday night at the Roanoke College Bast Center were on hand to see 7 foot tall Thon Maker, the top Division-1 basketball recruit in the nation for the class of 2016.
Maker and his Carlisle teammates were expected to make quick work of the Raiders from North Cross, considering the Chiefs had romped in a 38-point win over North Cross just over a month ago.
But, North Cross withstood big runs by the Chiefs to start both halves and had the last shot for the upset win, before falling 56-55.
“I’m happy the way it played out, but not happy with our performance,” Carlisle head coach Jason Niblett noted afterward. “Give credit to North Cross. They came after us and we didn’t come with any energy.”
Carlisle looked like it was heading for another blowout over the Raiders when they scored the game’s first nine points and North Cross was still looking for its first points midway through the opening quarter. But, the Raiders chipped away and got the deficit to five entering the second quarter.
North Cross took its first lead after a Matt Doughty 3-pointer midway through the quarter and led 26-22 on two Bennett Holley free throws with 2:12 left in the half before Carlisle closed with a 5-0 run to go to the locker room up 27-26.
Carlisle looked ready to take charge when they opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run to go up 37-26. But, the Raiders roared back with eleven straight on a pair of bombs from behind the arc by Doughty, a trey by Mark Dakermandji and a Doughty layup.
After a Chief basket, Bennett Holley gave North Cross the 40-39 lead on a 3-pointer from the left corner. The Raiders were still up 42-41 late in the third before Carlisle scored the last 4 points, 2 on a layup at the buzzer by senior Eric Johnson.
A Holley putback gave North Cross a 51-47 lead midway through the final quarter and Kennedy Nwambia gave the Raiders their final lead at 55-54 with a minute left.
Carlisle went to the 7-foot Maker for a rim-hanging dunk with :43.4 left that put the Chiefs up 56-55. But, Carlisle had the trump card down the stretch, having committed only 2 fouls in the half at that point, with four to give.
North Cross worked for a final game-winner and Holley was fouled with :10.4 left. After a Raider timeout, Carlisle forced a scramble for the ball on the inbounds pass and fouled again with :04 remaining. The Chiefs pressed on the final Raider inbound play and North Cross was unable to get off a shot before the final buzzer.
“I’m very pleased with our effort,” North Cross head coach Ed Green said in the Raider locker room. “Carlisle is one of the best teams in the U.S.. We kept them off balance all night.”
“We moved the ball around well and hit some big threes from the outside,” Green added. “But, not driving to the basket kept them from getting fouls. At the end we knew they had fouls to give and were going to foul. I’m proud of our play- the heart was there.”
Holley led North Cross with a game-high 25 points. Nwambia added 12, while Doughty netted 11 points for the Raiders.
Kaleb Johnson paced the Carlisle attack with 19 points, with Maker adding 18 and Eric Johnson chipping in 13.
Despite Carlisle having eight players over 6 feet tall, North Cross out-rebounded the Chiefs 35-23.
– Bill Turner
