Whether it costs the North Central Missouri College men the #1 ranking in the Division Two poll remains to be seen, but in a late-season road test strategically placed on the schedule to test the Pirates heading toward postseason play, NCMC fell short against Indian Hills Community College on Wednesday night by a score of 90-72.
The Warriors, a powerhouse Division One program out of Ottumwa, Iowa, are ranked #4 in the country, improving, with the win, to 25-3. University of Kansas bound sophomore Tyon Grant-Foster led IHCC with a 17 point, 13 rebound effort, with Chris Payton adding 17 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Childs, a sharp-shooting guard out of New York City, contributed 14 points, with Maurice Calloo 14 and Malique Jacobs 13 points.
The Pirates, on the short end of the scoreboard for the first time since an early November setback to Parkland College, fell to 22-2 with the loss. NCMC had a game-high 19 points from freshman Atavian Butler, with T.J. Babikir adding 16.
Just 24 hours after the setback in Iowa, the Pirate men were back on the Ketcham Community Center hardwood, and while “not having their best showing”, according to Coach Jeremy Esry, the Pirates improved to 23-2 with an 83-68 win over the Central Methodist JV. The Pirates appeared flat early, falling behind by as many as nine points, before the energy provided off the bench from Michael Horton, Jonathan Richmond, and Demarius Houston helped spark North Central.
Horton finished with 19 and Richmond 18 points in the victory. On Tuesday night, on Hot Country Z 101.7, NCMC travels to Council Bluffs, Iowa for a road tilt against Iowa Western Community College, with tip-time set for 7 o’clock.
The North Central men and women will look to edge toward potential #1 Region XVI postseason seeds, and a bye into the championship game on February 29th in Jefferson City, playing two critical region games over a three-day stretch next weekend.
On Thursday, February 20th, North Central will host Metropolitan-Penn Valley in a 5 o’clock/7 o’clock doubleheader on Hot Country Z 101.7, with the regular-season ending road trip to St. Louis Community College on Saturday, February 22nd, with the 1 o’clock women’s game and 3 o’clock men’s contest also on Z 101.7.
The Division Two Region XVI postseason tournament will be held on the final weekend of the month of February at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.
