The North Central boys basketball program has enjoyed its share of success in recent years, with multiple trips to state and three consecutive “Groovy Shoes” wins over Shadle Park entering last year’s game.
But the Highlanders took advantage of an off night in NC last year and shut out the Wolfpack by 20.
North Central was looking to start another winning streak on Friday.
Tyson Vogrig led all scorers with 22 points, Miles Spencer added 15 and the Wolfpack handled the Highlanders 73-49 in an early game at the Arena.
NC led by five points at halftime and exploded for 43 points in the second half.
Ja’Mir Johnson led Shadle Park (1-6) with 19 points.
“Last year they did something bad to us,” said Vogrig, a junior. “We had to go back and just take care of business.
North Central coach Rob Sacre has had his share of big games with Gonzaga, but he’s trying to be a calming influence on his team playing in its biggest stretch of the season.
“To me, it’s a game,” Sacre said. “But for these guys, I know it’s bigger than just the game. I’m proud of how we came in, executed, did what we needed to do to get the right result. We just really focused on just taking one ball at a time and being consistent with each and every one.”
“You know, it’s loud, but when you play basketball, you have tunnel vision,” Vogrig said. “You keep playing and you don’t really care about the crowd, you just care about getting the ‘dab.’ “
“It was a lot of energy, a lot of noise,” Spencer said. “But you know, at the end of the day, you just have to shut out the noise and focus on the game itself.
The Wolfpack has sent several players to the next level over the past few seasons. Vogrig and Spencer are two of the returnees who have stepped into those shoes.
“We had high expectations last year and we didn’t quite live up to them,” he said. “But this year we’re starting, you know, take it easy. We know how much talent we have and we’re pushing every game.”
“I’m just looking at the patterns of the past years, I’m starting to take it on and know that I have a bigger role than just being a role player,” Spencer said.
“(Vogrig) is growing and getting better every day. I’m proud of how he’s listening and he’s growing into a really talented player,” Sacre said. “(Spencer) brings a lot of energy to our team that if we didn’t have him, we would be a completely different team.”
Vogrig made a pair of buckets in the paint, then hit a downtown shot late in the first quarter to give NC a 20-15 lead after one. Neither team got much going in the second and the Wolfpack led 30-25 at the break.
NC (4-2) opened the third quarter on a 9-1 run, including a 3-pointer by Spencer, to open a double-digit lead. Vogrig finished with six points in the period and NC led 49-34 entering the fourth.
“We had to have, you know, the ‘come to Jesus’ speech (at halftime) and kind of figure out what our identity is,” Sacre said. “And we went back to finding what would win us games. And we went for it.”
Spencer and Vogrig drained back-to-back 3s to start the final period. The advantage reached 20 with five minutes remaining on a quick layup by Jordan Shanks after a nice layup by Terrence Bigsmoke.
Both coaches cleared their benches at 3:34.
“I understand the hype and everything (spirit week), but the longer I coach, the more I sound like coach (Mark) Few,” Sacre said. “I don’t want to focus on the show, the circus outside of (the game). We just have to lock in and we have a goal that we set for our team that we have to try to focus on.”
Girls
Shadle Park 54, North Central 40: Makenzie Fager scored 32 points and the Highlanders (3-4) beat the Wolfpack (1-5) late in the game. Fager’s career high is 34, in a 64-43 loss to Ferris on Jan. 28 last season.
Mia Shaw led NC with 12 points.
“It was everything I could imagine,” Fager said of her latest Groovy Shoes look. “It’s been fun this year with the new community and the coach and my teammates and we feel like we’re more connected this year than we’ve ever been. It was a struggle at first, but we got through it.”
Fager hopes her teammates and other SPS schools won’t take the experience for granted.
“I’ve talked to some of my friends from other schools outside of Spokane and they’re like confused because they just don’t understand what the atmosphere is like and everything,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love playing with all my friends and experiencing this.”
NC got within three minutes midway through the second quarter, but Fager hit a pair of 3-pointers from the wing and Shadle led 22-15 at the break.
NC senior Aalyiah England came off the bench for five quick points in the third quarter to pull the Wolfpack within two at 24-22. Fager answered with 12 in the period and Shadle went up 40-27 entering the fourth.
Milla Harrington hit back-to-back 3s to open the fourth, then Fager connected from long range to extend the lead to 22.
“The whole game we talked about, ‘Just go, go, go until we break them,'” Fager said. “And that’s exactly what we did.
NC won the spirit for the 10th year in a row.
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