SPRINGBORO — After a 61-55 home loss Jan. 23 to Miamisburg, Northmont coach Darnell Hoskins held a gut check meeting with his team.

That meeting could have gone either way, but afterward the Thunderbolts went on to score a 59-54 upset of first place Centerville, cruised past Ponitz 51-40 the next day, and this past Friday night took an early lead at Springboro and never looked back en route to a 55-31 victory.

“The Miamisburg loss is what woke the team up,” Hoskins said. “Miamisburg came in, and they were playing really well. I have a lot of respect for their coach. They came in and popped us good in our building and what that prompted was a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting.”

The very next day Hoskins held a three hour skull session on film and talked to the team about holding themselves accountable and to a different level of standards.

“Fortunately for us they didn’t tuck their tail between their legs. They took it like men, held themselves accountable and as a result we were able to go into Centerville focused,” Hoskins noted.

“We’ve been a different basketball team since that loss to Miamisburg,” he added. “Our mental disposition has been different, our preparation has been different and as you can see tonight, we look like a different basketball team.”

Early in the first quarter the packed Panthers student cheering section jeered Northmont guard Javen Vaughn as he positioned himself just feet away along the left sideline. Vaughn took a pass and calmly buried a three-point shot.

After the Panthers missed a shot Chisom Ibe scored inside, drew a foul from Jaden Rambo and sank the bonus shot to put the Thunderbolts up 8-3.

Carson Brigger buried a trifecta for the Panthers and Da’lin Wilkins answered with a dunk for Northmont. The quarter ended with Duece Cortner scoring a basket and pair of free throws to give the T’bolts a 19-10 advantage.

Northmont played ball control in the second period, limiting its shots while holding the Panthers to just one bucket to take a 26-12 halftime lead.

Both teams scored 13 in the third stanza. The Thunderbolts dominated the fourth quarter by dictating the tempo with methodical passing and only attacking the hoop when a clear opportunity presented itself.

Northmont led by as many as 25 points in the final period to secure its fifth conference victory. Wilkins led Northmont with 14 points including a pair of dunks. No Springboro players managed to score more than six points.

NMT 19 07 13 16 – 55

SPR 10 02 13 06 – 31

Northmont: B.J. Hatcher 2-5-9, Victor Drummond 4-1-9, Da’lin Wilkins 6-2-14, Duece Cortner 2-2-6, Javen Vaughn 3-0-8, Chisom Ibe 4-1-9. Totals: 21-11-55.

Springboro: Will Yates 3-0-6, Maxim Butler 1-2-5, Carson Brigger 2-0-6, Matt Meek 1-2-4, Brayden Wilhite 2-0-6, Carson Gutman 2-0-4. Totals: 11-4-31.

Three-point field goals: Northmont 2 (Vaughn 2); Springboro 3 (Brigger 2, Butler).

Records: Northmont 11-7 (5-7), Springboro 13-6 (7-5).

Reach Ron Nunnari at (937) 684-9124 or email [email protected].