Sophomore guards Demetrius Houston Jr. and Major Finley combined for 31 points, while the North Central Missouri College defense produced its finest performance of the season, in a 79-65 victory at Ellsworth Community College on Wednesday night.
In the contest played in Iowa Falls, Iowa, the Pirates led 40-35 at the half, and outscored the Panthers 39-30 over the final 20 minutes to clinch the win.
Houston had 18 points and Finley 13 for NCMC, now 5-2 on the season. Picking up eight points each for North Central were M.J. Johnson, Teyontae Jenkins, Jalen Gant, Tyreke Bell, and Dee Scruggs. Jenkins, a freshman guard playing just over an hour away from his hometown of Des Moines, hit 6 of 6 free throws late to ice away the win.
Sports Director Tom Johnson spoke about the victory on Thursday morning with first-year Pirate Head Coach Jeremy Esry:
The Pirate men have three games remaining until Christmas Break, playing host to John Wood Community College on Saturday at 3 o’clock at the Ketcham Center in Trenton, hosting Johnson County Community College on Wednesday, December 7th at 7 o’clock, and traveling to Springfield, Illinois on Saturday, December 10th for a 3 o’clock tip against the Lincoln Land Loggers. The game at Springfield can be viewed on our new video service, KGOZ-TV (YouTube.com/KTTNRadio).
