The Northeastern Knight boys basketball team joined the eight-team field in the Edinburgh Holiday Tournament played on Friday, Dec. 27, and Saturday, Dec. 28. After cruising to the championship game with easy early-round wins, the Knights defeated Tri-Eastern Conference rival and potential sectional opponent Union County to hoist the trophy.
Results of first round games:
Alexandria-Monroe 48, South Decatur 37
Northeastern 62, Austin 46
The Knights trailed 13-7 at the end of the first quarter before dominating the final three quarters. Landon Scarrette paced the winners with 21 points, Tre Vanlandingham scored 13 points, and Sam White scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
Union County 64, Edinburgh 56
Borden 77, Victory College Prep 33
Results of second round games:
South Decatur 69, Austin 60
Edinburgh 87, Victory College Prep 45
Northeastern 76, Alexandria-Monroe 52
The Knights built a 20-14 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, placing four players in double figures. Tre Vanlandingham paced the Knights with 18 points, Sam White scored 16 points, Kaleb Moore scored 12 points, and Noah Payne added 11 points.
Union County 49, Borden 48
Results of Championship round games:
Seventh place game: Austin 83, Victory College Prep 53
Fifth place game: South Decatur 57, Edinburgh 53
Third place game: Borden 51 Alexandria-Monroe 43
Championship game: Northeastern 64, Union County 54
The Northeastern Knights, 15th ranked in the 2A poll, faced TEC rival Union County in the championship game. The Patriots, who were upset winners in their two prior tournament games, saw their luck run out, losing to the Knights in a game that was closer than expected. Noah Payne led the Knights’ scoring with 25 points. Sam White scored 13 points, and Landon Scarrette and Trey Vanlandingham each scored 11 points.
A version of this article appeared in the January 1 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.