His shirt drenched with sweat and his team cutting down the nets a few feet away, Lawrence North High School coach Jack Keefer looked down to where the North Central boys had left the court and said what most of the sellout crowd of 2,700 at Arlington were probably thinking Saturday night.

“It’s just stupid that team is going home right now,” Keefer said after third-ranked Lawrence North’s thrilling 73-68 win over fourth-ranked North Central that secured the Class 4A Sectional 10 championship. “It’s just stupid. They’re going home and there are teams that will win a sectional that don’t even have a winning record. Let’s seed the whole tournament.”

Keefer will have to save that battle for another day.

Dominique Ferguson scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats (24-2) in a rugged contest between the Northside neighbors. Lawrence North led most of the second half, never by more than six until Stephan Van Treese made two free throws to make it 69-62 with 1:36 left.

North Central — which finished 1-2 against Lawrence North and 22-0 against the rest of its schedule — didn’t go away. As the Wildcats committed a turnover and missed 1-of-2 free throws, North Central got baskets from Patrick Ingram, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Terone Johnson, the last of which cut the margin to 70-68 with 40 seconds left.

Lawrence North ran the clock down and Ryan Taylor missed a short jumper with 21 seconds left, but the ball went out of bounds to the Wildcats. Taylor was fouled with 15 seconds left and, with his team in the double bonus, hit both free throws to push the lead back to four.

“I was just thinking if I hit these, the game is over,” said Taylor, a sophomore who is one of four Wildcats who have either signed with or orally committed to the University of Louisville. “I just took my time and knocked them down.”

North Central missed a 3-pointer on the other end and Alonzo Bass made 1-of-2 free throws to provide the final margin.

The outcome provided a measure of revenge after North Central had defeated Lawrence North 91-77 in last year’s sectional championship.

“I think North Central is the second-best team to us in the state right now,” Van Treese said. “They’ve been a monkey on our back, and we finally got them.”

The Wildcats did it with a balanced attack. In addition to Ferguson, Taylor (14 points), Justin Martin (12), Van Treese (12) and Bass (12) all scored in double figures.

North Central’s standout freshman, Smith-Rivera, led all scorers with 25 points and Purdue recruit Terone Johnson added 21. The normally-efficient Panthers were hurt by 4-for-28 shooting from the 3-point line.

As Lawrence North celebrated in “Sectional Champs” T-shirts, North Central coach Doug Mitchell commended his team.

“This is the only time in my life I can say this: I don’t feel any differently about the team in that locker room than I would if we’d have won the whole thing later in March,” Mitchell said. “That’s how much I respect their effort. The fact that they aren’t going to get their just due in history is sad. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve had to be around this team.”

[chart]
||||||||
|North Central|17|19|14|18|—|68|
|Lawrence North|22|15|19|17|—|73|
[end chart]

North Central: McFall 0, Ellison 9, T.Johnson 21, Reid 6, Smith-Rivera 25, Williams 2, R.Johnson 0, Ingram 2, Smith 3, Ward 0, Zelikovich 0, Barrett 0. 3-pointers: T.Johnson 2, Ellison, Smith. Totals: 23 FG, 18-23 FT, 68.

Lawrence North: Ferguson 21, Martin 12, Taylor 14, Bass 12, Van Treese 12, Chandler 0, Smith 2, Robinson 0. 3-pointers: Bass 2. Totals: 27 FG, 17-28 FT, 73.