The North Central Missouri College men ran into one of the best Division 2 basketball teams in the country on Wednesday night, and struggled to slow down the high-octane offense of the Southwestern Spartans, losing 112-80 at the SWIC Fieldhouse in Creston, Iowa.
In action on KGOZ-TV, Southwestern jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes of regulation, held off a Pirate surge in the middle portion of the half, then opened up a 30 to 40 point advantage in the second half in cruising home for the win.
Jordan Johnson led the 11th-ranked Spartans (3-0) with 22 points. Brodric Thomas added 20, Keshawn Wilson 12, and Jamil Maddred and Calvin Chambers both 10 points.
Both NCMC double-figure scorers tallied all of their points in the second half, as Iowa native (Des Moines) Teyontae Jenkins tossed in 17 points while freshman (Kansas City) Jalen Gant added 12. Gallatin native Harris Cameron played quality basketball over the final 10 minutes, scoring eight points. Major Finley and Dee Scruggs both scored eight points while Demetrius Houston Jr. had nine for North Central.
The loss is the first in the head coaching career of Jeremy Esry, now 2-1 in his first season as Pirate head coach. North Central will look to re-enter the win column on Saturday afternoon, hosting Lincoln Land (IL) Community College at 4 o’clock at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton. The Pirates will get another shot at Southwestern on Tuesday, November 15th, in a 7:30 tip from the Ketcham, again on KGOZ-TV.
