The North Central Missouri College men, reeling after a Region 16 loss to Penn Valley left the Pirates with a three-game losing streak, picked up a huge, confidence-boosting victory on Saturday afternoon in Harrison, Arkansas, 93-89 against the North Arkansas Pioneers.
The loss for Northark is that program’s first on their home floor this season, boosting NCMC’s overall record to 11-8 going into a Wednesday night date with the Ottawa University JV at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton.
Ryan Ward broke out of a shooting slump with a 20 point game for the Pirates, hitting 6 of 8 three-pointers in a blazing performance from distance for the sophomore. Jalen Gant had a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while M.J. Johnson, Cody Glenn, and Yacento Glenn also provided valuable contributions for the Pirates off the bench, with eight points apiece. Back in a starting role for North Central, Jordan Reece had 19 points and six rebounds in the victory.
North Arkansas had the leading scorer in the game, with Kamari Baleton totaling 26 points and nine assists. Josh Breathitt had 18 points and Roberto Galvin 10 for the Pioneers, while Deontei Johnson provided a spark off the Northark bench with 17 points and 7 rebounds.
The opener on Saturday afternoon in Harrison, a top-15 battle between the 13th ranked Lady Pirates and #12 ranked North Arkansas, went in decisive fashion to the home team, as Northark beat North Central Missouri, 83-56. The Lady Pioneers were able to slowly build an advantage through the first three quarters, leading 15-11 after 10 minutes and 35-27 at the half. The lead expanded further in the third quarter, with the Pioneers ahead 58-44. Although hopes were not necessarily realistic for a Lady Pirate comeback in the final quarter, it was a possibility. However, that hope for NCMC was squashed, with Northark dominating the final 10 minutes, 25-12 to produce the final margin.
The Lady Pirates defense struggled to slow down Hannah Villines of Northark, who put in 26 points on 11 of 18 shooting, to go with seven boards and four steals. Maya Hood added 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Shelby Roder had 11 points. Ashlyn Taylor and Grace Coates gave off the bench to scored 13 points each for the winners.
NCMC, held to 35 percent shooting in the loss, was paced by Sarah Lamp with 14 point and Maddie Book with 10. The Northark defense held high-scoring guard Kendey Eaton to just nine points, while a normally potent group of five that come off the North Central bench was held to a total of 16 points.
The Lady Pirates, now 15-5 on the season, will host the Graceland JV on Thursday night at 5:30. The Lady Pirates and Pirates will get rematches with North Arkansas on Saturday, February 24th, finishing the regular season with game at 12 noon and 2 o’clock at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton. The next broadcasts for the NCMC teams will be this Saturday, February 3rd, with NCMC at St. Louis in 1 o’clock and 3 o’clock tip times on Hot Country Z 101.7 and KTTN on Tune-In Radio.
