The North Central Missouri College men held off a stern challenge from an undermanned Southwestern Community College team on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Creston, Iowa and beating a six-member strong Spartan squad by a score of 80-69. After having two players foul out late, SWICC finished the contest with only four players on the floor.
T.J. Babikir of Kansas City Staley High School led the Pirates with 23 points, while Marty Jackson had 19 points and eight boards, as North Central improves to 11-1 on the season, with the 11 wins leading all NJCAA Division Two teams. Southwestern drops to 4-7, having lost back-to-back games, including a 91-85 setback to Iowa Western going into Saturday’s North Central Missouri tilt.
The Pirates seven-game winning streak has sent North Central Missouri College up this week’s national poll to #14, ahead of the season’s toughest test yet, a trip to Overland Park, Kansas on Tuesday night to tangle with 10-0, top-ranked Johnson County Community College. The contest from Cavalier Fieldhouse will be broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7, with pregame at 7:10, and tip at 7:30. Johnson County has nine of the ten first-place votes (North Iowa has the other) in the poll released on Monday afternoon. North Central’s #14 ranking is up two spots from one week ago.
