For 35 minutes of Tuesday night’s road test in Beatrice, Nebraska, the #1 ranked (NJCAA D-2) North Central Missouri College Pirates looked ripe for an upset. With a normally potent offense slowed by a pesky zone defense from Southeast Community College, the Pirates spent most of the contest at the Truman Center trailing, at times by double digits.
However, by midway through the second half, North Central, buoyed by strong play from Marty Jackson and an increase in productivity from Quinan Rieves, began to show signs of a comeback. A steal and breakaway dunk by Jeramy Shaw with five minutes to play cut the lead to six. Three minutes later, the game was tied.
Both the Storm and the Pirates traded baskets for the next handful of possessions, leaving the score tied at 72 with 20 seconds remaining, as NCMC had the final possession.
In action broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7, sophomore guard T.J. Babikir lofted a pass from the high-right side of the floor towards the rim. Meanwhile, swooping from the opposite side of the floor and leaping toward the left side of the rim was freshman forward Atavian Butler. With stunning quickness, Butler grabbed the ball in mid-air and hammered it two-handed through the rim, giving the Pirates the 74-72 lead with 2.5 seconds to go. A half-court heave by SCC hit the top of the backboard, as North Central escaped with the victory.
The win, pushing the Pirates to 18-1 on the season, was led by a 21 point, 11 rebound effort by Marty Jackson. Butler scored 13 points, with Babikir and Rieves both tallying 10. Southeast was led by 20 points from Bo Russell, 15 from Jalen Barker, a 12 point, 15 rebound effort from Kofi Hamilton, and 10 points for Teny Gakdeng.
The women’s contest to start the evening was less dramatic, as the Lady Pirates used a fourth quarter surge keyed by freshman guard Lily Osborn to distance themselves from SCC, winning 77-60. Osborn finished the evening with 19 points for North Central, now 13-6 on the season, with Da’Briauna Bables stuffing the stat sheet with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Brittany McKay had nine points and McKenzie McBee and Kennedie Kieffer seven each for NCMC.
Southeast had 11 points from Cassidy Weinandt.
The Lady Pirates and Pirates will open Region XVI play on Saturday afternoon, hosting St. Louis Community College at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton. Both the women’s game at 1 o’clock, and the men at 3, can be heard on Hot Country Z 101.7.
