COVINGTON — Pine’s Raiders had a tough game, falling to Northlake Christian School, 67-42, in the District 10-2A opener for both teams Tuesday on the road.
Things began tough for the Raiders, as Northlake Christian jumped out to a 13-1 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter.
The Wolverines led 2-1 with 5:55 left in the opening period when they went on an 11-0 run.
Jacob Herrington, who had a game-high 21 points, began the run with a 3-point play with 5:31 left in the first quarter.
Matt Whelan made a steal and hit the layup for a 7-1 lead. Sam Smith split free throws and Brennan Cooley hit a 3-pointer to put the Wolverines up by 10. Whelan, who tallied six points, capped the run with a bucket and Northlake Christian was up 13-1 with 3:16 on the clock.
Pine ended the run when Christian Warren, who posted six points on a pair of 3-pointers, knocked one down from the top of the key to trim the lead to nine.
But Northlake Christian went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter that was capped off by Cooley hitting a three at the buzzer. His long-range shot was between halfcourt and 3-point line near the sideline. It was 20-4 after one quarter.
Northlake Christian added to its lead on the first possession of the second quarter with Harrington hitting for two.
Pine then scored four straight. Trey Cooper, who had a team-high 15 points, split from the line and Warren drained another 3-pointer, trimming the lead to 22-8 at the 6:52 mark of the first half.
Northlake Christian continued to add to its lead. The Wolverines were up 30-13 with 4:42 left and scored the half’s final 18 points.
It was 48-13 at halftime.
Northlake Christian kept control of the game in the second half and led 61-21 through three quarters before going on for the win.
“You experience that. As a team you go through that and I’ll definitely place blame on myself, given my current situation,” Pine coach Drew Meyerchick said after the game Tuesday. “I haven’t been able to apply myself to my team as much as I should be able to because of my health condition. Now, having said that, no excuse. I never make an excuse for my team nor myself.
“We came out flat. It was almost as if we came out dead and didn’t want it and we’ve just got to work the kinks out. Turnaround and get ready for Friday (home against Archbishop Hannan).”
Bryson Knight and Ty Galloway scored seven points each while Kaleb Voth posted four and Eric Crosby had three.
Galloway hit two 3-pointers while Knight and Crosby had one each.
Northlake Christian’s Cooley tallied 16 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers.
Kyle Lazaro posted 10 for the Wolverines.
Sam Smith recorded five points while Jake Nunmaker tallied four, Christian Jones posted three and Isaac Weixel added two.