Pirates Split On Homecoming

On Monday night at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton, the North Central Missouri College basketball teams played host to a pair of junior varsity squads as the school brought back homecoming. It was a night to be celebrated for the men’s team, which handled the Missouri Valley junior varsity 93-73. However, the North Central women did not enjoy the same fate, falling 66-59 to the University of St. Mary junior varsity.
NCMC MEN
The North Central men used a fast pace to overwhelm Missouri Valley early, racing out to a 51-23 halftime lead. The Pirates were able to cruise in the second half, taking the game by 20 points.
“I loved our guys’ energy and effort tonight,” North Central Head Coach Jeremy Esry said. “I thought that led us to playing at a great pace and sharing the ball at a high clip. We still have a lot of stuff to clean up in order to become a threat, but I think tonight was a step in the right direction.”
Calvin Heidenwith led the Pirates with 17 points while Jordan Reece added 14 points and Cameron Lockett finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Quinan Rieves and Yacento Scott each scored 11 points, Rayonte Childs had nine and Emil Spriggs handed out seven assists.
The win pushed the Pirates to 11-10 on the season.
NCMC WOMEN
The North Central women dropped their ninth-straight game, committing 18 turnovers and shooting just 30 percent from the field.
Hailey Burrows had 17 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Pirates, which also got 13 points from Maddison Book and 12 from Karrisa Baber.
With the loss, the women fell to 6-14 on the season.
Both NCMC teams travel to Kansas City on Saturday to take on Metropolitan Community College. Action tips off with the girls game at 2 p.m. and the men will follow at 4 o’clock.