LOW AND SLOW

In Low-Scoring, Physical Contest Pirates Emerge With Another Victory

The North Central Missouri College men’s basketball team vaulted to the top of the national rankings with a high-energy, fast-paced brand of basketball. With fifth-ranked Johnson County making the trip to Trenton on Monday, the Pirates defeated the Cavaliers at their own game.
Johnson County no doubt remembered North Central hanging 91 points on the then top-ranked Cavaliers back on Dec. 3. So this time around, a conscious effort was made by the visitors to slow the game into a more physical match-up.
And the Pirates beat Johnson County at its own game.
North Central embraced the physicality and out-slugged Johnson County 71-58 at the Ketcham Community Center to win the battle of top five-ranked teams.
“This game had a different flow to it than most of the games that we have played this year,” North Central head coach Jeremy Esry said. “Our guys did a good job adjusting to the flow and committing to the defensive end of the floor.”
The 71 points the Pirates posted was the second-lowest total of the season for the team and the lowest in a victory. The Pirates’ lone loss of the season on Nov. 9 against Parkland was the only time North Central has scored fewer points, collecting just 61 that night.
But on the other side, Johnson County’s 58 points were the second-lowest total the Pirates have allowed this year. Only Graceland University’s junior varsity scored fewer points against North Central.
With the pace clearly dictated in the opening 10 minutes of the game, North Central embraced the challenge. By halftime, a close game had turned into a 37-24 advantage for the Pirates.
With offense fleeting in the second half, Rayonte Childs deliverered for the Pirates, scoring 13 points off the bench, all in the game’s final 20 minutes. His effort, combined with North Central’s continued dominance on the defensive end, allowed the 13-point halftime edge to stand at the end of the game.
“Rayonte Childs was huge for us off the bench and really sparked us in the second half when we needed it,” Esry said. “We talked at halftime that if we wanted to win in late February and March, then this would be a great test for us to see if we could win when the pace of the game was slower than we wanted it.”
In doing just that, North Central put an exclamation point on its national ranking, moving to 16-1 overall with its 12th-straight victory.
Marty Jackson led North Central with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Childs followed with his 13 points, and added three steals. TJ Babikir reached double figures as well, scoring 10 points while Jeramy Shaw chipped in nine points, three assists and three steals off the bench.
North Central has one day off before returning to action on Wednesday, playing host to Metropolitan Community College in the Region 16 opener for both teams. The game tips off at 7 p.m. following a women’s contest between the two schools at 5 o’clock.