The North Central Missouri College women and men took a pair of victories on Saturday afternoon at the Ketcham Community Center, sending the visiting Southeast CC Storm back to Beatrice, Nebraska with a pair of losses.
In Saturday’s opener, the Lady Pirates got plenty of offensive punch from its starting five in defeating Southeast 84-74. The North Central women started strong, up 24-14 after the first quarter, and finished strong, with a 21-16 edge over the final 10 minutes of action. Starting small forward Kortlyn Rounkles led NCMC with 26 points, with Lily Osborn adding 17, while sophomore Da’Briauna Bables, with eight points, added 14 rebounds in continuing her superb November play. Kennedie Kieffer had 12 points and 9 rebounds, with McKenzie McBee leading the bench charge with eight points, as North Central moves to 7-3 on the season.
The North Central men continued its assault on the Ketcham Center rims, backing up Wednesday’s 142 point onslaught with 110 more points, with a 110-88 victory, pushing Jeremy Esry’s squad to 9-1 on the season. Marty Jackson paced a balanced North Central effort with 24 points, with Quinan Rieves adding 20, Atavian Butler 19, Damien Loyd 15, Jeramy Shaw 12, and T.J. Babiker 10 points.
The win, and record, was rewarded in the national polls for the North Central men on Monday morning, with NCMC, for the first time this season, in the national rankings (NJCAA Division Two) at #16. Johnson County Community College of Overland Park, Kansas is 9-0 and ranked #1, followed by 9-0 North Iowa (Mason City, IA). Potential national tournament roadblock Arkansas State Mid-South is 6-2 and ranked #15 in the country. North Central’s Region XVI final St. Louis has 11 points in the national poll, with a 4-1 mark in the 23rd spot, just outside the top 20.
In their final games prior to Thanksgiving, the Pirate teams will host the John Wood CC (Quincy, IL) Trail Blazers on Tuesday night at the Ketcham Community Center. Both games (women at 5 PM, men at 7 PM) will be broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7, with pregame at 4:45.
