Northwood's mix of rookies, veterans leads Chargers to 21-point win over Cedar Ridge

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PITTSBORO — Last Friday was evidence that it’s not time for the Northwood men to pass the torch just yet.

The youthful Chargers have relied heavily on their freshmen this season, but it was senior guard Colby Burleson, with 14 points on four three-pointers, who led the stampede against conference foe Cedar Ridge in a 55-34 Northwood victory.

After a couple of weeks of halted comebacks, single-digit wins and heartbreaking buzzer-beaters, the Chargers’ 21-point win on Friday was their largest of the season, proving Northwood still has what it takes to be a conference threat.

“I’m feeling great. This was one of our best games,” Burleson said after the win. “We have a history of coming out flat in the third quarter, but tonight, we played our best basketball in the third, so that’s a great improvement and I’m really proud of all of the guys.”

Burleson, one of just two starting seniors against the Red Wolves, provided Northwood with the spark it needed to pull away from Cedar Ridge in the first half.

The start of the second quarter was sloppy for both teams, including lost ball turnovers, a backcourt violation and plenty of missed shots. But with 4:40 remaining in the half — and during a four-minute Northwood scoring drought — Burleson hit a left-corner three to put his team up 12-4. He followed it up with another a few minutes later to give the Chargers a 13-point halftime lead.

They’d never look back.

“Colby came ready to play,” said Northwood Head Coach Matt Brown. “He usually doesn’t start, he comes off of the bench, but he really opened it up for us tonight by shooting really well.”

Defensive triumphs

As important as offensive efficiency is, Northwood’s success boils down to one primary fundamental: defense.

The Chargers forced a season-high 19 turnovers against Cedar Ridge — while also having 19 themselves — as the team’s length gave the Red Wolves trouble all night. Less than six minutes into the game, Cedar Ridge had seven turnovers — and just two points.

Cedar Ridge scored just nine points in the entire first half, which allowed Northwood to jump out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter. Once the Chargers had a 10-point advantage, the Red Wolves never got their deficit back to single digits.

Two of the primary culprits for Northwood, freshman guard Drake Powell — who earned his third double-double on Friday with 13 points and 10 rebounds — and freshman forward Jarin Stevenson disrupted Cedar Ridge’s offensive flow whenever possible.

They batted away inbound passes. They interrupted passing lanes. They picked the Red Wolves’ pockets. They blocked shots. They did it all.

At 6’5” and 6’8” respectively, Northwood’s defensive core is a force to be reckoned with for opposing offenses. And what makes them even more frightening is that they can block your shot in the paint, hit a mid-range jumper on the other end, then steal the ball from right under your nose next time down the floor.

“I want to use my length to my advantage: blocking shots, getting steals, being in the right spot at the right time, maybe getting a hand in where I can,” said Powell, who isn’t quite sure what his wingspan is. “... I just try to have fun with it.”

Leaders of the new school

In the entirety of the Big Eight 3A Conference, there are just six total freshmen on varsity rosters. Northwood has four of them. And three are starters.

This season, a freshman leads the Chargers in every major statistical category.

Powell is the team’s leader in points per game (12.8), rebounds per game (7.6), steals per game (2.7) and blocks per game (1.0), while freshman guard Frederico Whitaker is the leader in assists per game (3.7).

“They’re a special group already. They buy in, they work hard, they’re very unselfish and very coachable,” said Brown. “They want to win.”

In the offseason, Northwood lost eight seniors from last year’s Final Four team, including the team’s top six scorers, who combined for 58 points per game. They had to replace that production somehow.

Enter Powell, Stevenson and Whitaker.

The three freshmen are the driving force behind Northwood’s 5-2 start. Despite having a less-than-ideal offseason, where in-person workouts weren’t available because of the coronavirus pandemic, they haven’t missed a beat and continue to rapidly grow in their first season with the Chargers.

Throughout the summer, players would attend film sessions over Zoom and even set up cameras and video themselves during individual workouts so the coaching staff could critique them.

“I was very confident with the freshmen coming in, as well as my seniors,” said Brown. “I knew we were going to be successful because, during our offseason, they worked hard. They could have sat around, played video games and felt sorry for themselves, but they didn’t. They went out and they worked because they wanted to do something this year.”

Friday night was a showcase for how well the rookies mix with the veterans. In arguably their most complete win of the season, the Chargers showed that the program is trending in the right direction with the future shining bright.

But Burleson is an indicator that if you focus too much on the young guys, the ones who have been with the team for years will make you pay for it.

“(The freshmen bring) energy and excitement and it gives the seniors someone to mentor and show around,” said Burleson. “It’s great to know we have a strong foundation in the hands of our younger players.”

Reporter Victor Hensley can be reached at vhensley@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @Frezeal33