Defense is not what North sophomore Conner Frankamp is known for. You won't hear North coach Gary Squires yelling at him to dive on the floor after a loose ball.
"He knows he has to save it (for) offense," Squires said.
Put the ball in Frankamp's hands, though, and he's proven in his short career that he's dangerous from any distance. A prolific scorer, he set the City League scoring record with 52 points in a double-overtime loss at Northwest earlier this season.
Saturday, Frankamp's defense and offense were on display in a 66-62 double-overtime win over visiting Northwest. He scored 30 points on 11-of-29 shooting, including 5 of 10 from three-point range, and had three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
"I think my offense is a lot better than my defense," Frankamp said. "My defense is what I'm trying to improve on the most."
He struggled offensively against Northwest's zone defense, hitting 5 of his first 19 shots as Northwest built an eight-point lead by the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
"I don't know what was going on," Frankamp said. "I was short on a lot of my shots. I was kind of tired."
Then he hit a jumper with 3:07 to go in regulation, ending an 0-for-5 drought, and followed it with a three-pointer from the top of the key.
With Northwest senior Grant Landenberger's hand in his face with 13 seconds to go in regulation, Frankamp hit a game-tying three, then raced down to the other end and blocked the shot of 6-foot-8 Northwest junior center Spenser Gales in the final seconds.
"I don't know why I tried to block that shot," Frankamp said. "I thought I was going to get called for a foul. I was kind of nervous, but I got a little of the ball. That was good."
After Northwest's Craig Nicholson tied the score in the first overtime — Nicholson finished with 20 points, while Gales had 17 points, 10 rebounds — Frankamp got a steal in the final 23 seconds but failed to get a shot off.
Frankamp scored the game's final three points, although teammate Torrance Henderson hit a three-pointer in each overtime, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds.
North won its second straight and fifth in its last eight, while Northwest was frustrated to see a late lead disappear.
"We just didn't execute at the end," Northwest coach Chris Collins said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game. We've got to finish those games out.
Northwest (9-5, 8-2) 14 14 16 10 5 3 — 62 North (6-9, 4-7) 14 12 12 16 5 7 — 66
NORTHWEST: Johnson 1 5-5 7, Miller 3 0-0 6, Gales 8 1-1 17, Landenberger 5 0-0 12, Nicholson 8 2-2 20, Kramer 0 0-2 0, Tuggle 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 (4) 8-10 62.
NORTH: Frankamp 11 3-3 30, Kemp 4 0-0 8, Hinojos 1 2-4 4, Henderson 6 0-0 14, Williams 0 0-0 0, Bridges 1 0-0 2, Beard 3 0-1 8, Price 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 (9) 5-8 66.
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