It had been over a month since the North Central Missouri College men’s basketball team had been on the court for a game. When the Pirates took the floor on Wednesday night at Southeast Community College, however, it didn’t look like the Pirates had been gone at all.
At least in the second half.
North Central overcame an up-and-down first half and really picked up the tempo in the second period, taking a 78-71 victory in Beatrice, NE.
“Not a bad first game back for our guys,” Pirates’ Head Coach Jeremy Esry said. “We went through some ups and downs early, but I thought our bench did a great job of stepping up when we needed it and keeping us in the game in the first half. In the second half we did a great job of playing tough defense and getting key rebounds down the stretch.”
North Central would trail 40-38 at halftime, but that score could have been much worse had it not been for the play of Jordan Reece, MJ Johnson and Jaran Richman, all coming off the bench. For Johnson and Richman, the action represented their return from injuries that have sidelined them through the first half of the season.
“It was nice to have MJ and Jaran back from injuries and in the lineup,” Esry said. “Both had significant contributions for us.”
In the second half, North Central began to find its rhythm and that spelled trouble for Southeast. The Pirate offense kept nearly the same pace, putting up 40 points in the final 20 minutes, but it was the North Central defense that swung the tide. Southeast was limited to just 31 second-half points as the Pirates came from behind to pick up the seven-point road victory.
Key to the North Central victory was Jalen Gant, who racked up a game-high 34 points and added 16 rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win. Reece followed with 14 points and two steals off the bench and Cody Glenn, getting his first career start, had 12 points.
“Jalen was solid as usual,” Esry said. “Hopefully this game gets us on the right track for the second semester and we can continue it on to Saturday’s game against St. Louis.
With the win, North Central improved to 9-5 overall on the season.
WOMEN WIN AGAIN
The women’s game between North Central and Southeast wasn’t much of a game at all as the Pirates cruised to a dominating 95-59 road victory, keeping themselves undefeated since returning from Christmas break on Sunday. The Pirate women jumped out to a 30-21 lead after the opening quarter and then dialed up the defense in the second, limiting the host school to just nine points. That allowed North Central to grow the lead to 47-30 by the break.
Things continued to trend North Central’s way in the second half with the Pirates outscoring Southeast 26-16 in the third quarter and 22-13 in the fourth to win going away.
“We played really well together,” Pirates’ Head Coach Jenni Croy said. “We had 29 assists and that’s the stat that we are most proud of. It’s fun basketball when the girls are looking for, and finding, each other on the court.”
Individually, Samm Jett scored 17 points and had five assists to lead a Pirate team that put five players in double figures. Whitley Richman, Kendey Eaton and Sarah Lamp scored 14 points each with Richman adding 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Eaton had seven assists and Lamp had 11 rebounds and two blocks. Hailey Burrows finished with 10 points for North Central.
The win for NCMC was its 13th of the season, moving the Pirates to 13-3 overall. North Central has won 12 of its last 13 games after starting the year 1-2.
UP NEXT
Both North Central squads open Region 16 play on Saturday, playing host to St. Louis Community College at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton. Action is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. with the women’s contest and the men’s game will follow at 4 o’clock.
WHITEOUT
North Central has dubbed Saturday’s Region 16 doubleheader ‘Whiteout’ and fans are encouraged to wear a white shirt to support the Pirates at the games.
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