The North Central Missouri College basketball teams claimed a pair of victories on Wednesday night, using their strong depth to overwhelm Southwestern Community College, with the Lady Pirates winning the opener 76-55, while the Pirates won the nightcap 104-71.Â
Despite an off-night from the perimeter, the NCMC women had a fairly comfortable win over an improved Lady Spartan squad, leaning on their ability to create live-ball turnovers in the 21 point victory.Â
Here is NCMC head coach Jenni Croy:Â
Sophomore guard Oliviya Tinoco had 17 points, Gladys Brown 16, Honor Mannings 11, and Jessica Reeter 10 points for the Lady Pirates, now 3-1 after a season-opening loss at #11 ranked (NJCAA D-2) Highland.
Southwestern, falling to 1-4 on the season, had Brooklyn Hadl with a game-high 23 points, with Gabby Dwanyen adding 13 points and Joslyn Policky 11.Â
The Pirate men moved to 5-0, racing away from the Spartans in the late stages of the first half and cruising in the second half to a 33 point victory. Tyler King and Jon Carroll had a workmanlike 17 points each for North Central.Â
Freshman forward Deng Gak had a strong performance off of the North Central bench, with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Mikey Thomas had 11 points, with Giovanni Mack and Camden Bennett each scoring 10 points for the Pirates.Â
For SWICC (1-3), Theo Alexandersson-Ohnell had 14 points, Rickey Lofton II 14, and Erland Pagliero 10 points.Â
The Lady Pirates, sitting at #13 in the country in Tuesday’s first regular season poll of the season, head to Marshalltown, Iowa to play in the Marshalltown Classic this weekend, battling Iowa Lakes CC on Friday afternoon at 1 o’clock, and Marshalltown on Saturday afternoon at 5.Â
The Pirate men face a tough road test on Saturday, traveling to Chanute, Kansas to play the Neosho County CC Panthers in a 3 o’clock tipoff. Tuesday’s latest rankings saw North Central Missouri College move into the #4 position in the country.Â
