| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
| Parkland | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 49 |
| Northampton | 16 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 52 |
The PPL Center has been a friendly confine for the Northampton K-Kids Basketball team the past two years because they are 4-0 in the building, including 2 back-to-back EPC Championships. Last year, they edged out Pocono MTN West 55-54. This year, they faced a familiar opponent in Parkland, who has given them trouble in the past. However, Parkland was no match for an experienced Northampton team with a senior heavy lineup, which included Noah Walakovits and his milestone night.
Walakovits not only was the MVP of the game with 23 points, but he also scored his 1,000th point as a member of the K-Kids, more milestones to already add to a historic season for him and the K-Kids.
The first quarter started with the Senior duo of Noah Walakovits and Brady Simock getting Northampton off to a hot start, where Noah put up seven points, and Brady put up seven points as well. Sophomore, Jake Raysely had three. Parkland initially started slow, but their Senior duo of TJ Lawrence and Javian Porter got them rolling with 3 and 4 pts respectively. Jr, Blake Nassry also contributed 3 pts and helped Parkland pull to within 5 by the end of the quarter.
The 2nd quarter saw Northampton extend their lead to 8, as Walakovits added 4 more to his total, which was now 11. Simock added 3 more to his total, bringing him to 10 at half. The pair of Lawrence and Porter continued to be the spark in Parkland’s offense as they both had 6 at half, adding 3 and 2 each respectively. Northampton lead 31-23 at half, but as Coach Scholl and the K-Kids know, no lead is safe against a very talented Parkland team.
The 3rd quarter saw Parkland chip away at the Northampton lead and pull to within 5. The player that orchestrated Parkland’s comeback run was Jude Ruisch who reminded everyone how dangerous Parkland can be when their 3-point shooting is on. Ruisch hit a 3 pointer in the 3rd and suddenly the Parkland crowd was coming to life and the team had momentum. Northampton added 10 points of their own in the quarter primarily from Noah Walakovits, but it was time for the K-Kids to lock in for the 4th or else the past demons they had against Parkland would start to rear their ugly head.
With everything on the line, the 4th quarter was the most competitive quarter of the basketball game, with the stars on each team taking over. Parkland’s duo of Jude Ruisch and Blake Nassry gave the K-Kids fits in the 4th, with the biggest being the game tying 3 from Ruisch and assisted by Nassry with 1:44 left in the 4th. Ruisch had two 3 pointers in the 4th, finishing with 12 on the day. Nassry totaled 9 of his 11 points in the 2nd half and put his team ahead 49-48 with a basket and an and one with 53.4 seconds to go. Javian Porter added 4 more to his total in the 2nd half, finishing with 10.
However, if there is one thing we learned about this K-Kids team this year it is that they are resilient and never feel they are done, even in the face of adversity. They had to overcome a double digit deficit against Whitehall and win in OT earlier in the playoffs, so this was nothing new to them.
The star of the night, Noah Walakovits, once again willed his team to victory, as with 25 seconds to go, he recovered his own rebound for the put back and gave the K-Kids a 50-49 lead. After a late miss by Jude Ruisch, Walakovits recovered another key rebound and Jake Raysely sealed the deal with 2 clutch free throws with 4 seconds left and Blake Nassry’s Hail Mary 3 did not go, as the K-Kids held on for a 52-49 victory over Parkland in the EPC Championship.
The K-Kids now await their opponent in Districts and will get a much-needed breather after some really competitive down to the wire games. For Parkland, their season ends in heartbreak but it was a run that will be remembered from the Seniors like Ruisch, Porter, and Lawrence, all players who kept them in the game the whole night.
LSV Sports 
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