Friday, December 16, 2016

Dakota Smyser Hits Layup as Mustang Boys Avenge Title Loss from Last Year

Getting a conference title in the new 275 will be no easy task with Jefferson in the fold, but North Nodaway’s boys took a big step towards contending with a 43-41 double overtime win over Mound City last Tuesday night.

Last year, North Nodaway’s boys played Mound City for a share of the conference title on their last home game of the season, only to fall well short. But this year, they jumped out to an early lead. Mound City came back to take the lead, North Nodaway fought back to force overtime, and then found a way to win it in the second extra frame.

North Nodaway struck first as Peyton Coleman converted a 3-point play, Cole Bird hit a free throw, and Arron Coleman scored off a backdoor look from Dakota Smyser to put themselves up 6-0. Cole Bird took a charge on defense during the stretch. They held off a Mound City attempt to rally and stretched it to as much as 20-12 behind Dakota Smyser’s 3-pointer before Ben Shifflett’s driving layup cut it to 20-14 at the buzzer.

But then Ben Shifflett started asserting himself, scoring off a drive and hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key; Matthew Poppa scored off a couple of steals, and just like that, North Nodaway’s lead was gone as they fell behind 23-22 just three minutes into the second half. It looked for all the world like Mound City would repeat their performance from last year when their 6’5” post, Noah Young, who had not scored up to that point, went off in the last 1:49, scoring six and staking his team out to a 31-25 lead after three.

But then North Nodaway started settling down and getting to the rim again. Tyler Bix and Dakota Smyser hit free throws, Peyton Coleman scored off a steal, and Bix went down the right side to tie it at 31 with 5:28 left. Poppa’s putback made it 33-31 to break a two minute scoring drought from both teams, but Coleman’s drive tied it right back up at 33.

It looked like North Nodaway’s best efforts would fall short as Ben Shifflett’s drive and pullup with 2:40 left put Mound City up 35-33 and the Panthers got the ball back and started running out the clock, forcing North Nodaway out of their zone and into man to man. But instead of running the clock in the last minute and forcing North Nodaway to foul, Dylan Marrs’ 3-pointer was off, giving the Mustangs new life. Peyton Coleman grabbed the ensuing board and went down the floor coast to coast and drew a foul, getting two free throws to tie it up at 35. Mound City ran down the clock for the last shot, but Marrs’ 3-pointer was off, as was Young’s putback try at the buzzer.

The first extra period was scoreless for the first two minutes, but then Poppa took advantage of a second chance opportunity after the Panthers had grabbed an offensive board and hit two free throws with 1:41 to make it 37-35. But then Tyler Bix scored from inside off an entry pass from Cole Bird to tie it up. Mound City once again ran down the clock for a final shot, but Ben Shifflett’s long 3-pointer was off and the game went to a second overtime.

The game remained tied for the next two minutes until Daytona Lutz, who had missed a couple of one and ones earlier, hit two free throws to put North Nodaway up 39-37 with 2:04 left. Shifflett countered with two of his own with 1:54 left and North Nodaway missed an open look. But Peyton Coleman outjumped two taller Panthers players with 1:20 left on the left baseline to give North Nodaway an extra possession. He went to the basket and got the benefit of a charge/block call that could have gone either way, hitting both free throws to make it 41-39. Shifflett scored again off a drive and pullup with 40 seconds to tie it up, and then North Nodaway held the ball for the last shot of the game.

The logical choice to get the ball was Peyton Coleman, who has scored over 1,000 career points and who had 18 on the night. But sometimes, coaches have a sixth sense about them that tells them someone is going to come through. Coach Jake Shipman isolated Dakota Smyser for the last shot and he came through, going straight down the right side of the lane and banking it home off the glass to make it 43-41 with four seconds left. Mound City, out of timeouts, had only a halfcourt heave that was wide left as time expired.

Peyton Coleman had 18 for the Mustangs. Dakota Smyser had 8, Tyler Bix 7, Arron Coleman 5, Daytona Lutz 3, and Cole Bird 2.

The girls did not fare so well against one of the elite teams in the area in Mound City. They fell behind 9-0 and fought back to an 11-6 deficit after one quarter. But then the defending state champions held North Nodaway scoreless in the second quarter and were off to the races as North Nodaway missed some layup opportunities in the period and were 0 for 4 from the line in the frame. The Mustangs fell behind by as much as 38-10 before finishing with a strong fourth quarter, falling 44-25 to the Panthers. Ashley Thompson had 13, Alisha Davison and Kelsi Oberhauser 4 each, and Kristin Herndon and Bethany Herndon 2 each.

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