The North Central Missouri College men rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to grab a key late-season victory on Saturday evening, 102-100 at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Nebraska.
The Pirates, with seven seconds remaining, trailed 100-99, but forced a five second call when feverishly contested defense left the Storm unable to securely pass the ball inbounds. NCMC, now with possession, got the ball to a cutting Jeramy Shaw, who hit a driving bank-shot while drawing a foul. The free throw gave North Central the final 102-100 margin, and pushed Shaw to a game-high 31 points.
Valiantly playing on a painful sprained ankle, sophomore All-American Atavian Butler came off the bench to add 16 points for the Pirates, now 11-5 on the season. Kolten Griffin had a strong outing with 15 points and nine rebounds, with Cam’Ron Donatlan adding 12 points.
The 9th-ranked Storm, in falling to a mark of 10-5, had 21 points from Much Biel, with Kofi Hamilton adding 18, Tyson Lewis and Wil McCoy 16 each, while Trey Hepburn had 10 off the bench. SCC falls to a mark of 10-5. The win pushed North Central’s national ranking, on Monday, from #15 up to #11.
In Saturday’s opener, the Lady Pirates dominated early, outscoring SCC 29-13 in the first quarter and cruising to a 74-59 road win. Maci Moore and Kortlyn Rounkles each had 17 points for North Central, with Kennadie Crowe contributing 12 in the victory, moving the 9th ranked NCMC women to 12-3 on the season. Southeast, falling to 9-7, had 22 points from starting forward Hunter Hartshorn.
