REGION ROMP

NCMC Men Crush MCC In Region 16 Opener

A season that has been a mixed bag for the North Central Missouri College men’s basketball team suddenly looks bright after the Pirates blasted Region 16 rival Metropolitan Community College – formerly Penn Valley – 110-75 on Wednesday night at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton.
The Pirates had toiled to an 8-8 record on the season entering the game and had lost their last two contests. After Wednesday’s result, however, North Central can’t help but feel like a contender for a region title, something that has eluded the Pirates since the basketball program was brought back to NCMC in 1999.
“It was nice to see what we could do with 40 minutes of consistency,” Pirates’ Head Coach Jeremy Esry said. “We have talked a lot lately about attitude and energy and the guys for sure brought that tonight.”
Jordan Reece had 18 points, three steals and three assists to lead North Central. Soloman Thomas followed with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists and Marty Jackson and Quinan Rieves added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Jaran Richman, Jake Salisbury and Quinan Rieves all had eight points each.
“Offensively I loved how much pressure we put on (MCC) the entire game and never let them rest,” Esry said. “On defense, we did a great job of making them take tough and contested jump shots and then rebounding off of that. Hopefully we can build off of this.”
The win pushed NCMC to 9-8 overall and established a 1-0 record in Region 16 play.
NCMC WOMEN
As good of a night as it was for the men, it was an equally tough night for the women, who were handed a 105-80 loss. North Central fell behind 26-19 in the opening quarter and trailed the rest of the night.
The Metropolitan lead was just 49-40 at halftime, but a 32-point outburst by the visitors in the third quarter and a 24-16 run in the fourth sealed the Pirates’ fate.
Hailey Burrows led the Pirates with 18 points and seven rebounds and Maddison Book scored 18 points as well. Da’Briauna Bables had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Dymeria Guillory had 11 points and six assists and Megan Ernzen had 10 points and five assists.
“I thought we did some good things in the game,” North Central Head Coach Jenni Croy said. “We have really been focusing on making good decisions on the offensive end and getting the best shot possible.We have to get better on the defensive end, now. Our goal right now is to get better each day.”
With the loss – the sixth straight for the Pirates – the NCMC women fell to 6-11 overall and 0-1 in Region 16 play on the season.
UP NEXT
Both NCMC teams will be on the road Saturday, traveling to North Arkansas. The women’s game tips off at noon with the men’s game to follow.