Thursday night against Albany, Northeast Nodaway's boys had to come back from a 13-point deficit against the Warriors to win 47-46. The next night, the same thing almost happened to them in reverse against Stewartsvile -- they nearly gave away a 14-point second quarter lead, falling behind in the fourth quarter. But then they rescued a seven-point deficit with just under three minutes left in the game, rediscovering their game plan of going inside, getting some critical steals, and tying things up to force overtime. In the extra period, Northeast was able to go inside on the Cardinals at will, winning going away 67-60. It was the third nailbiter in a row for Northeast, which had dropped a two-point decision to North Nodaway and won a one-point decision at Albany in consecutive games.
It looked like an easy win for Northeast for a change as Colby Wiederholt (12 points) picked up a loose carom and went to the basket and then Aaron Patton found a cutting Bryce Farnan (20 points) to put Northeast up 4-0. Farnan rejected two shots right off the bat on the other end of the floor. Lafayette Fleeks countered with a fast break against Northeast's press but then Aaron Patton dove into the stands to get a steal and Colby Wiederholt got on the line for a free throw. That sparked another run as Wiederholt added a steal of his own and then Bryce Farnan hit a pair of free throws to make it 9-2 at the 2:18 mark of the first. D.J. Gray made a backdoor layup against Northeast to cut it to 9-4, but then James Burns got a putback for Northeast and then blocked a shot on the other end to keep it at 11-4 after one quarter.
The lead continued to grow for Northeast as Chad Messner buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key; Fleeks countered with an inside shot, but then Bobby Welch found Chad Messner on the right side and then went coast to coast on the next play to find Bryce Farnan in transition for two free throws. Farnan then added a putback to cap the run with Northeast up 20-6.
The lead stayed at 26-13 thanks to an offensive carom and drive from Patton, a pair of free throws from Farnan, and two free throws from Patton. But then Northeast began playing like they were down 13 instead of up 13 as Dakota Dunlap began jumping passes at will, getting three steals and layups in a one minute span to spark a run. He added a shot from the right wing and Lafayette Fleeks added a pair of free throws and a putback during a 12-1 run that made it 27-25 before Tyler Davis (13 points, 11 in the second half) hit from the high post with 5 seconds left to break the run.
Davis added a pair of free throws right off the bat, but Northeast's perimeter defense, which has been suspect in the last few games, deserted them again as D.J. Gray hit a 3-pointer to answer. Davis countered from the high post, but then Gray launched one from the baseline and added a bucket off a drive to tie it at 33. Tyler Davis posted up and scored inside, but Northeast's leaky 3-point defense let them down again as this time, it was Jerod Swope who connected from downtown to put Stewartsville up 36-35.
Bobby Welch answered Swope's 3-pointer with one of his own and then James Burns cleaned up on a miss in transition and Colby Wiederholt added a steal to put Northeast back in front at 42-38 with 1:54 left. Swope answered from the left wing to make it 42-4o; Tyler Davis had a pair of free throws for Northeast answered by an inside shot from Fleeks to make it 44-42 after three quarters of play.
A drive from Philipp Eisermann and reverse layup put the Cardinals back in front at 46-44, and it looked like Stewartsville would take control in the period. Aaron Patton drove the right side to tie it at 46, but then Gray hit from the left side, Fleeks got a putback, and Dakota Dunlap added a free throw to make it 51-46. Tyler Davis hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key after a feed from Patton, but Northeast's suspect 3-point defense let them down again as Swopes got open from the left baseline to answer with one of his own and then added a shot from the left side to give Stewartsville a seemingly comfortable 56-49 lead with 2:37 left in the game.
But then Colby Wiederholt hit a pair of free throws with 2:20 left and Stewartsville began throwing the ball away, giving Northeast a chance to get back in. Bobby Welch got a steal on the next play and then Kevin Stoll found Bryce Farnan open on the weak side for a 3-point play with 1:55 left to make it 56-54. All of a sudden, the seven-point lead had shrunk to two in just 25 seconds. Stewartsville had a chance to make it a two-possession game, but missed two free throws and then Tyler Davis had a rejection and Northeast got the ball back. Bryce Farnan then drove down the left side and his shot with 1:08 tied it up. Farnan had earlier made a game-winning 3-pointer against Elwood.
The Cardinals still had a chance to run down the clock like North Nodaway did and win the game in the closing seconds, but Swope threw the ball away under pressure with 56.4 seconds left, giving Northeast a chance to win in regulation. Aaron Patton held the ball up top until the last 10 seconds, when he drove the lane and attempted a runner with 5 seconds left. But his shot went astray, sending the game into overtime as Stewartsville was unable to get off a shot in the last few seconds.
Stewartsville had three chances to get on the board first in the extra period, but Tyler Davis rejected Lafayette Fleeks and putback tries by Brent Riggs and D.J. Gray were no good. Finally, Tyler Davis lobbed the ball in to Bryce Farnan to put Northeast up for good at 58-56. Stewartsville then tried a lob pass inside, but Bryce Farnan was there for the steal and Aaron Patton hit a free throw on the ensuing possession to make it 59-56 with 1:54 left.
Lafayette Fleeks answered with a fake and inside move to make it 59-58 and then Stewartsville put on a fullcourt press, trying to get the ball back to take the lead. Dakota Dunlap began getting in the zone again like he did in the second quarter, getting a steal and Stewartsville the ball back with 1:15 left, down one with plenty of time to take the lead. But Bryce Farnan got a steal of his own and fed Colby Wiederholt for a layup with 55.5 seconds left to make it 61-58.
Stewartsville could still tie with a 3-pointer and Northeast had been struggling against 3-point shooters defensively in their last few games, but they got the stop that counted as Jerod Swope missed one and Northeast got the ensuing board. Dakota Dunlap tried to steal the ensuing outlet, but Aaron Patton outscrambled him to the ball and called timeout with 40.1 seconds, then threw a long pass to Colby Wiederholt against the press on the ensuing inbounds play. Wiederholt then found Farnan open for a 3-point play and Northeast was up 64-58 with 37.1 seconds left.
Dakota Dunlap tried a 3-pointer that would have made it a one-possession game again, but this time Northeast was all over it and Aaron Patton chased down the ensuing carom in the corner. Patton then made two free throws with 24.4 seconds left to seal things. An inside shot from Fleeks with 13.7 seconds left and a free throw from Bobby Welch rounded out the scoring.
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