Jag Hoops downs Central, 65-42, for first area win of season

The Northridge Jaguars basketball team traveled across the Black Warrior River to take on the Central Falcons for their first area contest of the 2025-2026 season. The game was tight in the first half and the Jags were down by two at the end of the second quarter. But something happened at halftime and the Jags came out like a different team in the third quarter. A 24-5 run (at one point it was a 22-0 run) in the third quarter completely changed the game and led to a 23-point victory for Northridge.

The Falcons grabbed an early lead in the first quarter, but the Jags rebounded to close the lead to one point when the buzzer sounded to close out the quarter. The Jags lost some ground to the Falcons and were down five until James Walker banked a 3-pointer off the backboard as the busser sounded. That shot closed the Falcon lead to two points, 29-27, going into halftime.

Northridge came out like a different team in the third quarter. At one point, the Jags went on a 22-0 run and when the quarter was over, Northridge finished by outscoring the Falcons 24-5. That gave the Jags a 51-34 lead. Northridge closed out the game by outscoring Central 14-8 in the final stanza to claim the 62-42 area win.

Elias Fleming led Northridge with 17 points. Tavares Jones finished the evening with 14 points and Garrett Ingram scored 12. Chase Murphy and Adam Hall totaled four each. James Walker and Owen Worrell finished with three points apiece. Andrew Matthews, Davis Claytor, Miller James and Ben Leitner chipped in two points each.