Niles North nixes Loyola

Malachi Nix and Niles North got off to a fast start and rolled past Loyola 64-49 in the quarterfinals of the 35th annual Wheeling Hardwood Classic Thursday in Wheeling.

Niles North (9-2) will move into the semifinals to face St. Viator at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Nix helped force 3 Loyola turnovers to start the game. Nix nailed a 3 and JJ Myles chipped in two others from long distance as the Vikings jumped out to a 10-0 advantage halfway through the first quarter.

“We came out with a lot of energy,” said Nix, who finished with 20 points, including a trio of treys. “I tried to get my teammates involved in all facets of the game.”

The Vikings hit 5 of their first 6 shots from outside the arc as the lead 20-7 after the first quarter. They continued to frustrate Loyola (7-5) as the Vikings built a 36-22 lead at the half.

“I thought tonight we played real well,” Niles North coach Glenn Olson Jr. said. “It was fun coaching our kids tonight. It was very disciplined, hard-nosed defense.”

Olson was also pleased with Nix’s floor leadership.

“Malachi is a great player,” Olson said. “When he plays like this, we are a real tough team to beat.”

Lorenzo Dillard had 11 points while Billy Voitik chipped in 9 points for the Vikings, who finished 7-of-14 from outside the arc. Loyola was led by Jack Morrissey with 17 points.