The North Central Missouri College men claimed a thrilling triple overtime victory on Friday night, and came back on Saturday evening to take down Kansas City, Kansas with a combination of depth and athleticism, part of a pair of victories at the KCK Fieldhouse for Jeremy Esry’s squad over the weekend.
The two wins improve NCMC to 5-1, going into a Tuesday night visit from the Peru State JV at 7 o’clock.
On Friday night, Marty Jackson and Jeramy Shaw provided a lethal 1-2 punch for the Pirates, with Jackson scoring 30 points and Shaw 28, in a 111-109 victory over the Labette (KS) Cardinals. T.J. Babikir added 15, Atavian Butler 12, and Damien Loyd 10 points for the Pirates.
For LCC, Makiyah Jones had 18 points, Toraze Dobbs 17, Tyler Garrett 15, Bryson Dennis 14, and Jordan Base and Luis Melian each netted 13 points. Of 10 players in the Labette rotation, seven fouled out, leaving just Garrett, Melian, and Base on the floor by the end of the third overtime session.
In the North Central victory, Quinan Rieves provided front-court strength with 12 rebounds, going with nine points.
The Lady Pirates opened their weekend in Kansas City, Kansas with a dominating second half performance against Fort Scott (KS), outscoring the Greyhounds 45-11 over the final 30 minutes in an 80-41 win, North Central’s second in head-to-head action Fort Scott this season. Angel Wiggins came off the bench to lead a balanced NCMC attack with 16 points. Da’Briauna Bables had 12 points, with Lily Osborn and Kennedie Kieffer each adding 10 for North Central, improving Jenni Croy’s team to 4-2.
On Saturday evening, North Central battled the host Blue Devils of Kansas City Kansas Community College, in doubleheader action broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7. The Lady Pirates took an early lead against the once-beaten (6-1), 4th-ranked squad out of KCK, but the Blue Devils athleticism and shooting wore down NCMC, as KCKCC would catch the visitors by the half, build a third-quarter lead, then hold on for a 77-65 triumph. Kamyrn Estell led KCK with 22 points, with Tiara Earnest scoring 13, and Mercer Roberts 11 points. In falling to 5-3, North Central had 20 points from Lily Osborn, with Bables adding 14, Brittany McKay 12, and Kortlyn Rounkles 11 points.
The Lady Pirates, on Wednesday afternoon, will play at Southwestern (Iowa) Community College, in a 5:30 game to be broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7, with Tom Johnson providing the play-by-play from the SWICC Fieldhouse.
The North Central men improved to 6-1 with a Saturday night win over KCKCC, 100-86. Six Pirates scored in double figures in a strong offensive effort, with Marty Jackson putting in a team-high 19 points. Loyd had 16, Butler 13, Babikir and Rieves 12 each, and Shaw 11 for NCMC. For the Blue Devils, 6’8″ sophomore center Sevon Witt had a game-high 26 points, with Cody Dortch adding 16, and Germaine Yarbough 10 points. KCK is coached by former NCMC player Brandon Burgette and assisted by former University of Kansas guard Brady Morningstar.
