The North Central Missouri College Pirates won in a tough road environment on Saturday afternoon, traveling to West Memphis, Arkansas and defeating the Arkansas State University – Mid South Greyhounds 74-72.
Rick Cole of Pirates Media provided the championship call, as the Pirates held on by their fingernails, on KTTN FM 92.3:
Marty Jackson led NCMC (28-3) with 23 points with Atavian Butler adding 17. Mid-South, losing to end its season for the second consecutive season against North Central, had 23 points from Jalen Lynn, with Ike Moore adding 20.
The win sends North Central Missouri College to the NJCAA Division Two national tournament in Danville, Illinois from Tuesday, March 17th to Saturday, March 21st, where unlike last year, when the “Cinderella” Pirates entered as a #16 seed, this year’s Pirates squad should get a very generous seed, with a season that included a seven-week run at #1 in the country, and only one loss to a Division 2 team, that coming in early November to Lakeland, Illinois. A top four seed would have the Pirates playing sometime on Tuesday, March 17th in the opening round, while a #5 or #6 seed would mean a first-round contest on Wednesday, March 18th.
Here is victorious Pirate Head Coach Jeremy Esry:
Esry spoke about some of the players helping the Pirates reach the national tournament:
Coach Esry was asked whether this team can win a national championship:
