The North Central Missouri College men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled to Iowa for a pair of weekend classics. The Pirates went 0-2 in the Ellsworth Classic in Iowa Falls, IA, while the Lady Pirates dropped two games in the Iowa Western Classic in Council Bluffs, IA.
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Men
North Central opened play in the Ellsworth Classic on Friday with a matchup against Northern Iowa Community College. NCMC led at the half, but could not hold on as Northern Iowa roared back for a 77-65 win.
The Pirates played well in the first half and led 26-23 at the break. Turnovers were a big factor in the second half, however. NCMC finished the game with 18 miscues, most of which came in the second half. The Pirates were outscored 54-39 in the second half, giving Northern Iowa the win. In addition, the Pirates only shot 25 percent from the field in the second half.
“Defensively we just quit playing in the second half,” Pirates’ coach Steve Richman said. “We are getting to the point in our season where we are playing so many games without a break that we tend to wear down physically and mentally in the second half.”
NCMC also lost its second game, 75-57, to Ellsworth Community College.
North Central trailed 33-28 at the half and was still right in the game.
“Once again it was a pretty good game to halftime,” Richman said.
In the second half, NCMC again fell off, going on to lose. The Pirates turned the ball over 13 times in the loss.
NCMC is now 4-8 on the season with the losses.
Women
The Lady Pirates opened play in Council Bluffs, IA on Friday against a very good Iowa Western team. Iowa Western jumped out early and built an 18-point lead over the Lady Pirates at halftime. NCMC could not battle back in the second half as Iowa Western pulled away for a 107-54 win over the Lady Pirates.
Cassie Hunt was the leading scorer for the Lady Pirates, with 12 points.
NCMC’s luck didn’t improve any on Saturday as they fell 74-50 to Northeast Nebraska. Hunt was again the only Lady Pirate in double figures as she scored 10 points.
“Overall it was a tough weekend,” Head Coach Jenni Croy said. “The girls played hard, but the athleticism of the other teams was just too much for us to overcome.”
Both squads will return to action tonight when they travel back to Iowa for matchups at Graceland. Action starts with the womens’ game at 5:30 p.m.