The North Central Missouri College men’s basketball team, after trailing for most of regulation against upset-minded Kansas City Kansas Community College, rallied to send Wednesday night’s game to overtime, and, after 10 more minutes of sterling basketball, survived with a 1118-115 victory at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton.
Returning All-American Atavian Butler scored 11 of his 21 points after the start of overtime, leading the Pirates in clutch time with numerous successful dribble drives to the hoops and made baskets. Making their debuts in Pirates “Red and Black”, freshman Kolten Griffin (St. Joseph, MO) and Mack Anderson (Dawn, MO) each scored 18 points. Scoring 16 points, including a game-tying slam dunk with six seconds remaining after a backcourt steal, was Jeramy Shaw. Cam’Ron Donatlan, a sophomore transfer from Iowa Central, scored 14 points, while Jackson Andrews adding 13, Damien Loyd 12. The Pirates are ranked #6 in the country (NJCAA D-2) coming into the season.
For the 19th-ranked Blue Devils of KCK, the inside-outside tandem of Lee’s Summit native Deron McDaniel and Raytown South product Caleb Jones were dominant, with McDaniel scoring 32 points and Jones adding 20. Jermaine Yarborough (Grandview, MO) had 12 points, while point guard Trey Bates had 11.
Wednesday night’s opener featured #15 NCMC and #9 ranked KCK, with the Blue Devils rallying from a four-point deficit over the final 2 1/2 minutes of regulation, ripping victory away from the Lady Pirates, 71-67. Perhaps the two biggest statistics costing North Central the victory were 28 turnovers on the offensive end, many leading to KCK transition points, with the Lady Pirates hitting only 50% of their 24 free throws.
The Blue Devils were paced, in a game that saw 10 players score, by 10 points each from Jada Mayberry (Wichita, KS) and 10 more from DeQuaria Guillroy (Kansas City, MO). North Central had superb debut efforts from two of their freshmen, as Maci Moore (Trenton, MO) had 18 points, with Kennadie Crowe (Norborne, MO) adding 14.
The Lady Pirates and Pirates continue their seasons on Sunday afternoon, hosting John Wood CC in a 2 o’clock (women) and 4 o’clock (men) doubleheader at the Ketcham Community Center. On Tuesday afternoon, NCMC will play at Mineral Area College in a 3 o’clock and 5 o’clock doubleheader. All four games can be heard on Hot Country Z 101.7, KTTNSports.com, and KGOZ on the Tune-In Radio app.
There were a handful on high school basketball games on Wednesday night, with Milan defeating Penney 65-47 in a girls final. Other girls finals were Lafayette over Excelsior Springs 46-27 and Fayette over Southwest Livingston 45-21.
In boys finals, Penney won at Milan 57-48, despite Wildcat senior Dominic Dabney scoring 35 points. Other finals were Cameron over Excelsior Springs 83-60, Novinger over Bucklin/Macon County 70-26, and Fayette over Southwest Livingston 86-67.
South Harrison High School has announced a postponement of its girls basketball game on Friday night at Gallatin due to COVID-19 issues. There will be a boy’s game played at Gallatin on Friday night at 6 o’clock, with the girls game moved to Monday, February 1st.
Gallatin’s girls and boys will host Princeton on Saturday afternoon, with coverage on KTTN FM 92.3. The girls game tips at 3:30, with the boys game at 5 o’clock. Missouri Tiger pregame for a 7:30 game at Tennessee will start at 7 o’clock.
