LASKER – They were down by one midway through the fourth quarter.

Northeast Academy then went on an 18-3 tear to close the contest and rolled by non-conference rival Halifax Academy 61-47.

“At the end of the game, we had fresh legs in and got our fast break going,” veteran Northeast Academy skipper John Brown said. “We wore them down. We were able to knock down shots when we needed to.

“This was a good victory,” he added. “Everybody contributed for us.”

The Eagles in fact had nine players score and put two in double figures paced by Josh Jenkins with 14 points and Ryan Davis with 12.

It was Hunter Deloatch, however that got the spurt started for Northeast when they trailed 44-43. Deloatch knocked down back-to-back shots and was followed by a three from Halifax’s Corey Garvey that knotted the score at 47-all.

Senior Drew Pinnix then hit the bucket that put Northeast ahead for good at the 3:06 mark of the fourth quarter. His hoop was followed by two Davis free throws and then hoops by Brodie Harrell and Deloatch that made it 55-47.

Pinnix, Jay Baugham and Davis each hit free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.

The contest had been close throughout much of the matchup.

Northeast jumped out to a 9-2 advantage behind scores from Jenkins, Davis and Baugham, but Halifax answered with a 6-0 run of their own to even the score at 10-all. It was tied at 13 at the end of the first quarter.

The Eagles exploded out of the gate in the second quarter, scoring the first 11 points thanks to a Jenkins hoop and free throw and triples by Davis and Brandon Futrell as they staked out a 24-13 advantage.

Halifax stormed back with the final seven points of the first half to deadlock the score at 28-all.

The Vikings edged ahead in the third quarter with back-to-back buckets from Jeremy Wells, but Northeast was sparked by a three-pointer from Pinnix and consecutive Harrell hoops to take a 35-33 lead.

The see-saw battled continued throughout the third quarter with Northeast holding a three-point lead (43-40) at the end of the quarter.

Halifax got a hoop from Randy Fobbs and a pair of free throws by Wells to take the 44-43 lead.

Northeast will entertain Bethel Christian Academy Friday evening.

Northeast (61): Josh Jenkins n 14, Ryan Davis n 12, D. Pinnix n 8, J. Baugham -7, B. Futrell n 6, B. Harrell n 6, H. Deloatch n 6, J. Pope n 2

Halifax (47): Jeremy Wells n 24, C. Lucas n 7, R. Fobbs n 6, B. Caudle n 4, C. Garvey n 3, C. Clay – 3