It looked like a repeat of the South Holt game. "The train was coming off the tracks," said Coach Jake Shipman. "We were losing our cool." All he told them was, "Don't sink down, rise up." All of a sudden, instead of collapsing, North Nodaway made three defensive stands after losing all but two points of a 40-30 lead and Rock Port knocking on the door with a chance to tie or take the lead. The 40-30 score was ominous; it was the same lead they had squandered against South Holt. Rock Port followed South Holt's lead, only they made their run in the fourth quarter, not the third. After playing half court defense all night long, they switched to a full court press and North Nodaway started throwing the ball away. They were clinging to a 44-42 lead after Rock Port's run before Peyton Coleman stopped the bleeding with a driving layup and sent Domonic Evans to the bench with five fouls in the process. He missed the free throw, but his play stopped the bleeding as North Nodaway recovered to secure a 53-43 victory.
North Nodaway got the stop on the ensuing possession and Rock Port had to foul. They elected to foul Wyatt Tate, but he stepped to the line and hit both free throws to make it 48-42. Caden Linthicum hit a free throw to make it 48-43, but then Peyton Coleman went five for six from the line to save North Nodaway's Courtwarming and keep alive their hopes for a 275 title, their first since 1983-84. It also salvaged a split since the girls had dropped the opener 38-35.
It looked for all the world like it would be an easy romp to victory at first. Koby Reynolds hit a 3-pointer from way behind the arc and added a 3-point play for North Nodaway and added a triple later in the quarter to make it 18-7. Ben Hart had four, as did Wyatt Tate. Koby and Peyton can always get their points; the supporting cast has to be effective in order for the Mustang boys to be effective, so it looked like a good night. Rock Port was missing their shots early, while North Nodaway was hitting theirs. Peyton Coleman came alive with seven in the second as North Nodaway led twice by as much as 15, at 29-14 in the second and 34-19 in the third before Rock Port finally started hitting some shots to close to 10 after three.
Peyton Coleman had 18 points and Koby Reynolds had 16 to lead the Mustangs. Wyatt Tate had 8, Ben Hart had 6, and Dakota Smyser had 5. Peyton Coleman had 7 assists, Koby Reynolds and Dakota Smyser had 2 each, and Daytona Lutz and Wyatt Tate had 1 each. Peyton Coleman had 3 steals and Dakota Smyser had 1. Wyatt Tate and Koby Reynolds each had 1 block. Ben Hart took a charge on defense. Ben Hart had 9 boards to go with his 6 points. Peyton Coleman was 8 for 11 from the line. The team had only 12 turnovers, half of them during the frantic stretch when Rock Port was trying to get back in the game. North Nodaway was 7 for 20 from the line.
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