The North Central Missouri College Pirates head into Saturday’s match-up with State Fair Community College at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton riding a five-game winning streak.
The Pirates are playing at the highest level they have played all season, but Saturday’s opponent, State Fair, will present the Pirates with one of their tougher challenges.
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State Fair Community College is a NJCAA Division I school with a 15-10 record. State Fair has wins this season over Moberly Area Community College, Indian Hills, Three Rivers and Florissant Valley.
The biggest weapon for State Fair is Sanijay Watts of St. Louis. Watts leads Division I Region 16 in scoring with 22 points per game. Watts also averages eight rebounds per game this season.
State Fair also has a deadly three-point threat in Shasta Scott of Atlanta, GA. But it is State Fair’s size that has NCMC Head Coach Steve Richman most concerned.
“They have a lot of size,” Richman said. “They have two kids that are 6-8. They are big and thick and are a very solid team.”
Richman feels the key to getting the win on Saturday and continuing the recent winning streak will be playing a control game.
“We are going to have to play controlled,” Richman said. “We have to have no mistakes and minimize our turnovers to be successful. We also need to control the boards defensively.”
One advantage the Pirates will have is their bench play. During the Pirate five-game winning streak, solid bench play has been a consistent factor. During the Pirates’ last win over Calvary Bible College, Bethany native Jacob Bottcher came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points and pull down 13 rebounds.
“We are starting to get back to full strength,” Richman said. “We have been getting a good balance in our scoring and our bench play has been very strong.”
Richman also feels the underdog role could help his team.
“I know they are going to come in here Saturday with a lot of confidence being a Division I school coming to play a Division II school,” Richman said. “Hopefully we will be able to change their mindset. I am excited about the direction the team is going in.”
A win for the Pirates would boost their record to .500 at 12-12 on the season.
Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., following the women’s match-up with State Fair. Tip time for the Lady Pirates’ game is set for 5:30 p.m. It will be “Think Pink” Day as the Lady Pirates will be recognizing the fight against breast cancer by wearing pink warm-up tops and having “Think Pink” t-shirts for sale.
Between games, the latest inductees into the NCMC Athletic Hall of Fame will be recognized, including the 2006-2007 women’s basketball team, which finished sixth at the Division II National Tournament last March. Mrs. Russell Derry and her late husband will also be recognized for their contributions as supporters of the college athletic program.