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Matt Grindle of Northridge drives past Johnstown-Monroe’s William Orr on Jan. 13. The Vikings were 7-8 overall and 4-5 in the MBC before playing Fredericktown on Feb. 3. Buy This Photo

John Wheeler believes patience has helped his Northridge High School boys basketball team reach stride.

The fourth-year coach said the Johnnies have not been panicking during key situations. They carried a four-game winning streak into an MBC game Feb. 3 against Fredericktown.

“We’re turning the ball over less, and we’re definitely turning it over less in crucial situations,” said Wheeler, whose team was 7-8 overall and 4-5 in the league before playing Fredericktown. “We’re making better decisions in pressure situations and playing with better poise when teams make a run at us. We’re settling down and doing a good job of running our offense.”

Case in point was Jan. 27 at Centerburg. The Vikings trailed 27-16 at halftime and by 14 early in the third quarter but chipped away to force overtime and earn a 41-38 victory.

“We were down to Centerburg, but we held them to three points in third quarter and six in fourth,” Wheeler said. “Hank Biehl hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer on an assist from Hayden Warner to send it into overtime and then Hayden hit a 3 off a pass from Hank to win the game.

“We have some talented players, but haven’t been in some of these situations before. In the past, they lost control and now we are learning, little by little, that we can do this.”

Connor Burke scored 18 points to lead the Vikings against Centerburg. Warner scored nine points, Eli Ketron had five and Biehl finished with four.

Burke had averaged 23.8 points over five games before Feb. 3, including 34 in a 67-54 loss Jan. 17 to Wellington. Although the senior guard had a career-best performance against the Jaguars, he was the only Northridge player to score more than six points.

“Connor has been getting into double figures (in scoring) most of the season, but we have started to balance our scoring,” Wheeler said. “It used to be only Connor in doubles, but now we’re having two or three others reach or come close to scoring doubles.”

In the game following the loss to Wellington, the Vikings beat Heath 42-37 on Jan. 21 with Burke scoring 16 points and David Pribonic adding 12.

In a 64-47 win over East Knox on Jan. 24 in MBC play, Burke scored 29 points with both Pribonic and Warner adding 14.

A day after beating Centerburg, the Vikings defeated Tree of Life 51-48. Burke led with 22 points, Warner scored 10 and Pribonic added eight.

“Connor is becoming a better leader every day,” Wheeler said. “When things aren’t going well, Connor helps calm everyone down and he makes things happen. That’s good senior leadership.”

The next two games for the Vikings are league contests at home. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, they play Loudonville, which beat Northridge 55-35 on Jan. 6. On Friday, Feb. 10, the Vikings will play Utica. The Redskins won 53-43 on Jan. 10.

Before Feb. 3, Loudonville (9-1) led the MBC ahead of Fredericktown, Johnstown and Utica (all 7-3), Northridge (4-5), Centerburg (3-7), Danville (2-7) and East Knox (0-10).

“It may be too late to challenge for a league title, but we’re gaining confidence and learning what we can and cannot do as a team and as individuals,” Wheeler said. “It’s been really fun right now. The kids have been really motivated in practice and it’s a good time to start playing well as the postseason nears.”

•The wrestling team will be looking for the program’s first league championship during the MBC meet Saturday, Feb. 11, at home.

Coach Eric Potts said the event was changing from the dual format of last season to a pool format.

“I’m not sure if (the pool format) will help us or not,” said Potts, whose team will enter the tournament at 6-0 in MBC duals. “We have some open weight classes, so we’ll have to see what happens.”

Last year in the MBC meet at Centerburg, the Vikings finished second to Utica, which won 58-18 in the championship dual. Thomas Williams (130 pounds) was champion for Northridge with Parker Fox (112), Jeff Maynard (119), Shane Mulligan (125) and Jacob Burke (160) taking second.

On Jan. 28, Northridge finished eighth of 23 teams with 125 points in the Jimmy Wood Invitational at New Lexington. St. Paris Graham (423.5) won the event.

Williams (138) was first at New Lexington with Burke taking third (170). Heavyweight Anthoney Verhovec was fourth and Drew Mullen (132) was sixth.

“We wrestled pretty well in a tough tournament,” said Potts, whose team competed in the John Deno Classic on Feb. 4 at Athens. “Anthoney and Jacob were in a couple of tough classes.”

The Vikings are seeded fifth in the Division II district behind Amanda-Clearcreek, West Jefferson, Galion Northmor and Ready. They will compete in a sectional Feb. 17 and 18 at Cardington along with Northmor and Ready. Amanda-Clearcreek and West Jefferson will participate in the sectional at Madison Plains.

Williams was a district qualifier last season and missed reaching the state meet by one match. This year, he is ranked 20th in Brian Brakeman’s High School Wrestling Forecast, which rates wrestlers to predict the finish of all classes in the state tournament.

“Thomas has beaten three kids who are rated higher than he is (in the Brakeman forecast), but that’s fine,” Potts said. “I like (him) to be a little underrated, really. It gives you something to work for.”