It was a game that neighboring Tecumseh and Northwestern both wanted before the Christmas break. The Arrows were trying to close the gap on first-place Bellefontaine in the Kenton Trail Division of the CBC, while the Warriors had to win to maintain their tie atop of the Mad River Division, as Indian Lake and Northwestern were unbeaten in the division.

The Warriors used a pair of big games from senior Kurt Waters and sophomore Evan Noffke to build on a halftime lead and defeated the Arrows 63-50 in front of a good holiday crowd at Reynolds Gymnasium.

Northwestern jumped out fast building a solid first quarter lead. After taking a 5-4 lead just two minutes into the game, the Warriors used an 8-0 run thanks to a pair of three’s from sophomore Evan Norkee to build a 13-4 lead with 3:18 left in the opening quarter.

Reid Hale, who had a big game of his own for the Arrows, stopped the bleeding with a three but that was the only offense the Arrows could muster the final five minutes of the first quarter, as the Warriors ended the period scoring the final six points, and used a 14-3 run to lead 19-7 after the opening period of play.

Tecumseh slowly got back into the game behind a pair of three’s from Clay Mastin and two free throws from Reid Hale to close the deficit to 24-15 with four minutes left in the half.

The Arrows continued to battle in the final minutes of the second period, as Hale hit a three and Darian Spencer scored on a putback, pulling the Arrows to within two scores at 28-22 in the closing minute of the half. A floater from Noffke gave the Warriors a 30-23 margin at the half.

Northwestern came in the second half and quickly added to their lead. Waters scored four points to push their lead out to 36-26 with 6:42 left in the third period. Hale buried a three to keep the Arrows within striking distance, but the Warriors continued to add to the pressure. Waters scored again, and when Liam Randall scored in the paint, Northwestern led 40-27 with 3:34 left in the third period.

The Warriors increased their lead out to 15 points and heading to the fourth, the Arrows trailed 48-35.

Noffke led the way for the Warriors with a game high 22 points, while Waters added 20 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. Mastin led the Arrows with 17 points, with Hale pouring in 16.

Tecumseh returns to action tomorrow and Friday in the Piqua Buckeye Insurance Invitational, while Northwestern is at Emmanuel Christian on Friday night,