The North Central Missouri College men rebounded from Saturday’s loss to Region 16 rival St. Louis with a convincing 93-73 win on Monday night at the Ketcham Community Center over the Missouri Valley JV, broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7.
With Soloman Thomas (eye infection) and Stephen Campbell missing the game due to injury, Coach Jeremy Esry’s team went to its depth to run away from the overmatched Vikings, with sophomore Calvin Heidenwith (Unionville, MO) leading the way with 16 points. Adding 14 was Jordan Reece (Wichita Falls, TX), with Cameron Lockett (St. Louis, MO) scoring 13 points and Yacento Scott (Kansas City, MO) contributing 11, as NCMC improved its record to 11-10 on the season.
In Monday night’s opener, the Lady Pirates fought back from a double-digit deficit to get within as close as three points in the fourth quarter, but fell short to the JV squad from St. Mary (Leavenworth, KS) by a score of 66-59. Leading the Spires with 13 points was Tiani White, the younger sister of former NCMC All-Region performer Imani White. Former Stanberry Lady Bulldog Jaden McCune added 11 points for USM.
NCMC, in dropping to 6-14 on the season, had 17 points from sophomore Hailey Burrows (Gilman City, MO). Karissa Baber (Milwaukee, WI) had 14 points and Maddie Book (St. Joseph, MO) 13 for the Lady Pirates.
On Saturday afternoon from the Forest Park Fieldhouse in St. Louis, the Pirate men saw their Region 16 record even up at 1-1, with a 77-70 loss to the host St. Louis Archers. North Central lost a 36-34 lead, as in his return to the team he played for a year ago, Lockett led the Pirates with 16 points. Reece had 15 points and Scott 11 for NCMC. St. Louis, in improving to 9-9 overall, and 2-0 in Region 16 play, had 23 points from Trequon Patterson (including 14 of 15 from the free-throw line), with Dominique Loyd scoring 17 points, Sterling Wooten 14, and DaMani Jarrett 11.
The 19th ranked team in the country, St. Louis, dominated the third quarter of Saturday’s opener, breaking away from a 32-27 halftime edge, outscoring the Lady Pirates of NCMC 29-12 over the third stanza, in a 77-53 win that improves the Lady Archers to 16-5 overall and 2-0 in Region XVI play. NCMC had 13 points from Burrows, with Baber and Book each scoring 11 in the road defeat. The Lady Pirates are now 0-2 in Region XVI play.
The Lady Pirates and Pirates head to Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon to play the Metropolitan CC Wolves. The women’s tip is at 2 o’clock, with the men at 4, on Hot Country Z 101.7. On Monday night of next week (February 11th), NCMC will host their make-up games with St. Louis, also on Hot Country Z 101.7, with the women’s game at 5, followed by the men’s contest.
