‘We’re winners’: Knights fall to Parke Heritage in regional final but smile at the big picture

GREENFIELD, Ind. — You want to know how bad the Knights wanted this one? Just zoom in on their faces in the picture taken moments after Keaton Mikesell was handed the regional runner-up game ball.

Northeastern had just lost to Parke Heritage 58-48 in Saturday’s boys’ basketball regional championship. The players, all sporting one of three different expressions, watched the Wolves celebrate their victory. The seniors told the story:

Mikesell and Caleb Harmon look mad, scrunched eyebrows, frowns and all. Grant Luebbe and Karsen Scarrette’s eyes are glossing over, visibly fighting back tears. Carson Terrell is staring blankly into the mosh pit of black jerseys, similar to how he did after his final football game last fall.

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The Knights headed to the locker room, all eyes pointed down, and Queen’s “We Are The Champions” started playing over the speakers for their opponents.

“It was quiet,” Harmon said of the mood in the locker room afterwards. “A lot of sniffling noses and nobody smiling. You want to make the situation sound great, but it burns. You never know when it’s going to end until it does.”

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It did Saturday, and while the disappointment throughout the team was clear, the first words out of head coach Brent Ross’ mouth were “It was a great year.”

It certainly was. This Northeastern team finished with a 21-6 record. It went 8-0 in Tri-Eastern Conference play for the third year in a row, extending the undefeated conference streak to 25 games. It won a fifth consecutive Wayne County Tournament. It won the program’s sixth sectional title, the first for this group of seniors.

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“They’ve got something to come into the gym, look on the wall and be proud of,” Ross said. “I told them, ‘There are other schools that don’t get to do that when they look back 20 years from now. You’re part of something bigger than yourself. You’re family for life.’”

That family started long before high school for the five seniors. Those five, who were Northeastern’s starting five for just about every game this season, have been playing basketball together for 13 years.

Harmon said it’s been a “crazy” journey with the other four by his side — they had a boys’ night at Mikesell’s place Saturday night — and this was “definitely” his favorite team he’s ever been a part of.

“It’s a cliché, but you blink an eye, and it’s over,” Harmon said. “I feel like it was yesterday we were playing Seton at Earlham to open the season. That’s what I flashed back to before, and I was like, ‘This might be it right here if we lose.’ It’s win or go home, and we’re going home, sadly.”

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Northeastern’s season may be over, but, in Ross’ words, “it wasn’t from a lack of effort or how hard they played.”

The Knights came ready to play Saturday, and you could tell they wanted it more than the Wolves in the opening minute. After Luebbe won the opening tip, Terrell slipped behind the defense and scored the game’s first basket. Northeastern went right into its full-court defensive press, and Mikesell came away with a steal and passed to Luebbe in the right corner for an open 3-pointer. The Knights forced another turnover on the ensuing possession, pressuring a Parke Heritage ball handler into a five-second closely guarded violation. Terrell scored again to make it 7-0 before the Wolves even knew what happened.

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After each of those plays, the Northeastern fans inside Greenfield-Central High School’s gym erupted. A hundred-plus Northeastern students packed one corner of the stands, all dressed in neon yellow construction vests, and about three-times as many casual fans cheered along right next to and across from them.

Ross called the support “tremendous,” crediting this season’s attendance numbers to his players’ effort on the court.

“It’s a phenomenal feeling knowing people stand behind us like that,” Harmon said. “The support all season has been ridiculous. The cheer block tonight was crazy, and the fans were crazy. I think we brought as many people as if we were playing a home game.”

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Those same fans then humbly watched Parke Heritage seemingly not miss a shot for the final 30 minutes. The Wolves were 12-for-17 from the field in the first half, taking the lead early in the second quarter, and ended the day 20-for-29 (8-for-11 from 3-point range).

“You’ve got to take your hats off,” Ross said. “Every time they needed a big basket, they made it. The team that makes shots wins basketball games, and they made big shot after big shot after big shot. Sometimes, that just happens.”

Of all nights, right?

Despite the loss, this was arguably Ross’ most together team he’s had in his 14 years with the program. His players came into this season knowing they didn’t have a go-to scorer, but they also knew their identity lied in their defense. They trusted each other to make open shots and let their defense carry them to victory. Unfortunately, they came up just a few shots short this time.

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“I told them, ‘There’s nothing to hang your head about. Only one team ends the season with a win.’ It’s the elusive goal every team shoots for,” Ross said. “It’s hard because these five seniors are just great kids. I don’t worry about their futures. If this is the most adversity they have, they’re going to live a pretty good life.”

A number of things raced through Harmon’s head as he watched Parke Heritage’s celebration: the disappointment from the loss, the emotion from playing his final game, the confusion from feeling like the season had just started. But as he emerged from the locker room, his smile shined through it all.

“We’re winners. We’re not losers. Even when we lose, we learn,” Harmon said. “That’s what Ross has taught us … but it was definitely disappointing because we wanted it bad.”

Ross is now 0-4 in regional championship games, all in the last eight years, and Northeastern is still searching for its first regional title. He joked that he’ll have to let one of his assistant coaches take over for the next one.

The Knights’ junior varsity team went 17-3 this season, so who knows? Even with the five starting seniors leaving, maybe that next regional appearance is closer than you’d think.

Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Northeastern falls to Parke Heritage in regional championship game