It was rough going for the North Central Missouri College women’s and men’s basketball teams on Saturday as they lost a pair of Region 16 contests at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
It was rough going for the North Central Missouri College women’s and men’s basketball teams on Saturday as they lost a pair of Region 16 contests at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City.
The Lady Pirates dropped their third game in a row, falling to the Lady Scouts, 72-70. The NCMC men, meanwhile, lost a 73-57 decision.
Lady Pirates
The women’s game was a back-and-forth affair from start to finish, with both teams taking small leads throughout the contest. The turning point was a six-point possession by Penn Valley with four minutes to play that allowed the Lady Scouts to climb back into the contest.
Coach James Arnold said the end of the contest provided a lot of excitement when the Lady Pirates, down by two points with 10 seconds left to play, had the opportunity to take the lead. Tiara Johnson got the rebound off a missed three-point attempt by the Lady Scouts and put in a tough shot under the basket, which Arnold said appeared to be in before time expired, adding that she was also fouled on the play. However, the call was that she was fouled on the floor and that the shot did not count. NCMC was not yet in the bonus, so did not get the chance to go to the free throw line.
“The end of the game was unfortunate and there may have been a few questionable calls, but we had a ton of chance to win that game on our own and we came up short,” Arnold said.
This was the Lady Pirates’ third loss in a row and Arnold hopes the NCMC squad can learn from the contest and get ready for regional tournament play, which is just over a week away.
“This can be good for us, but it’s tough right now,” Arnold said. “We need to get rested up mentally and physically and get ready for a playoff run. We-re the number one seed and we are in the driver’s seat, but this week humbles you and shows you how hard you have to work at all times to stay on top.”
NCMC was led by Johnson with 16 points. Amber Vandevender and Shelley Rennison each scored 15 points while Demisha Murray came off the bench to score 10 points.
The Lady Pirates are 22-7 overall and 9-1 in regional play. They finish the regular season this Thursday night at home against the Hannibal-LaGrange junior varsity. Game time at the Ketcham Community Center is 7 p.m.
Pirates
The Pirates could never seem to get their offensive game going, trailing at halftime by 14 points, 45-31.
“We went down there and froze,” Coach Steve Richman said. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well and their zone caused us a lot of problems.”
The Pirates could manage only 19-of-46 from the floor, including 10-of-22 from three-point range.
“Anytime we shoot 22 three-pointers, we are going to lose,” Richman said.
The Pirates were also just eight-of-23 from the free throw line.
Leading the way for NCMC was Jared Boone with 16 points. Alex Coffey added 12.
The Pirates are 16-12 overall and 3-5 in Region 16 action. They will host Hamilton College on Wednesday night at the KCC. The game begins at 7 o’clock.
The loss gives NCMC the third seed in the Region 16 Tournament, which will be played on March 10 at Westminster College in Fulton. Penn Valley is expected to be the opponent.