The North Central Missouri College men’s basketball team traveled to Marshall Wednesday night for a match-up with the Missouri Valley JV. In a close contest, the Pirates were able to return victorious, taking a 69-66 win over the Vikings.
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The game was a tight battle the entire way with neither team able to grab a clear advantage. At the half, Missouri Valley held a 35-31 lead. The game continued to go back-and-forth in the second half as neither team could build an advantage of more than four points.
The Pirates grabbed the lead with 2:30 to play and maintained a two- to three-point lead until the final minute. NCMC went up by four points, but Missouri Valley hit a three on an inbounds play with just over 12 seconds remaining in the contest. The Pirate lead was cut to just one and Missouri Valley brought its defense into a press, looking to put NCMC on the free throw line. The Pirates’ Martin Roper slipped behind the defense, however, and got down the court for an uncontested layup, pushing the lead to three. NCMC’s defense held on in the final seconds, clinching the win in the process.
“Effort-wise, I am very happy with my kids,” Head Coach Steve Richman said. “They are out there giving everything they’ve got.”
Roper finished the night with a team-high 21 points to lead the way for the Pirates. Byron Bundy was right behind him with 19 points and Devin Eighmey pitched in 10 to aid the Pirate effort.
“I’m proud of the way we battled back,” Richman said. “It could be better to win a close one like this than to blow them out.”
The Pirates moved to 7-12 on the season with the win.
NCMC will be back in action on Saturday as they face off with Florissant Valley at home in the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton. Tip-off time is 4 p.m.