North Nodaway’s boys had won handily over North Harrison in their previous two meetings. The Shamrock players were worried about this game even though North Nodaway had lost Peyton Coleman to graduation and had some big shoes to fill. Yet it was Mustang coach Jake Shipman who was staring at the scorebook in disbelief after North Harrison had come away with the 60-57 opening night victory over his squad. “We missed way too many free throws,” he said, nothing that his squad was 9 for 24 from the line. “There were too many front ends missed. We’re young, and we’re still trying to figure out how to work with each other. That’s just the way it goes. We didn’t start playing until there were three minutes left.” So how did the Mustangs manage to make a game out of it? “Cody Wood (27 points) played the best game he’s ever played,” said Shipman. “The sky’s the limit for him.”
The speedy Mustang guard showed that he could break down defenses early, scoring the first seven points of the season for North Nodaway. The game was a well-played game between two good ball-handling teams. But the factor that doomed the Mustang girls also doomed the boys as well – rebounding. North Harrison had 36 rebounds to 24 for North Nodaway.
The first quarter was tied at 5 and 7 before North Harrison jumped out to a 12-10 lead after one. But then the Shamrocks, who had won ten games last year, two in 2015-16, and last posted a winning season in 2012-2013, suddenly started putting on a clinic in the second quarter. They gained some serious separation when Collin Castleberry dropped a 3-pointer from the top of the key off a pass from Steven Willhite; Logan Craig went coast to coast for a 3-point play and added an inside shot as he went off in the period with eight points. Castleberry dropped another triple, then Gavin Garrett got the ball into Craig for a 3-point play to make it 29-12.
Cody Wood and Arron Coleman did all they could to get the Mustangs back in contention in the period, but the deficit was still in double digits. Woody scored off a drive, then Arron Coleman got a free throw, then tipped one to himself for a defensive board and went coast to coast for a layup, then hit another free throw off a drive as North Nodaway closed to within 31-18. The teams traded scores for the rest of the period as North Harrison led 36-22.
North Harrison continued their unaccustomed success in hitting the nets in the third, but North Nodaway finally started finding the range. Castleberry’s inside shot off a pass from Willhite made it 40-25, but then Ryan Riley dropped a second triple of the night and Woody found Cole Bird inside to get it down to 40-30. Logan Craig got going for North Harrison inside, but Wood hit one from behind the arc to get it under double digits at 44-35 with 3:41 left. But then Willhite’s 3-pointer from the top of the key off a pass from Brett Emig gave North Harrison some separation again as they went back up 49-36 and led 51-39 after three.
The defenses were stiff for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, but then Cole Bird made a hustle play when he kept a possession alive with an offensive board and Arron Coleman hit from the left side to make it 54-45 with 3:45 left. All of a sudden, Woody went nuts despite playing with four fouls and got a steal with 3:09 left. As North Nodaway was putting some heavy pressure in the backcourt on the ensuing play, Logan Craig drew a questionable technical foul call and Wood put down the free throws and it was a brand new ballgame at 54-49.
Both sides exchanged turnovers, Wood missed a shot, and Logan Huitt gave North Harrison some badly needed breathing room with a pair of free throws with 1:38 left to make it 56-49. Both teams missed 1-1 opportunities, then Wood took on three defenders and scored to make it 56-51. Brett Emig missed a 1-1, and then Arron Coleman got a driving layup set up by a pass from Wood to make it 56-53 with 51 seconds left.
Willhite hit two free throws to make it 58-53 with 35.9 seconds left, but then Woody struck again with 25 seconds, going to the rack to keep the pressure up and making it 58-55. Emig missed two free throws and Wood got the ball again, but Logan Huitt made a key defensive stand when he took a charge on him with 18.6 seconds left, drawing Wood’s fifth foul.
Arron Coleman got a steal with 12 seconds left to cut it to 58-57, but Willhite hit two more free throws to make it 60-57 with 9.1 seconds left and North Nodaway needing to go the length of the court. They got two good looks at a tying three, but both Ryan Riley’s and Tyler Bix’s shots were off the mark.
For North Nodaway, Cody Wood led all scorers with 27 points. Arron Coleman had 14, Ryan Riley had 5, Cole Bird and Tyler Bix 4 each, and Austin Bird 3.
Cole Bird had two blocks for the Mustangs. Arron Coleman, Ryan Riley, and Cody Wood all had one.
Cole Bird had 10 boards for North Nodaway. Arron Coleman had 7, Cody Wood 5, and Ryan Riley and Tyler Bix had 1 each.
Cody Wood had 4 assists. Austin Bird, Arron Coleman, Cole Bird, and Tyler Bix all had 1.
Arron Coleman had 7 tipped balls for North Nodaway. Tyler Bix and Cole Bird had 3 each. Karson Oberhauser had 2, and Ryan Riley, Cody Wood, and Austin Bird had 1 each.
Arron Coleman had 5 steals. Tyler Bix had 3, Cody Wood 2, and Ryan Riley 1.
For North Harrison, Logan Craig had 17, Collin Castleberry 15, and Steven Willhite 12. Logan Huitt had 7, Brett Emig 5, and Gavin Garrett 4.
Steven Willhite had 2 blocks for the Shamrocks. Collin Castleberry had 1.
Brett Emig had 11 boards for North Harrison. Steven Willhite and Logan Craig had 6 each. Gavin Garrett and Logan Huitt had 5 each. Collin Castleberry had 3.
Steven Willhite had 4 assists to lead North Harrison. Brett Emig had 3, Collin Castleberry and Gavin Garrett 2 each, and Grant Claycomb and Logan Craig 1 each.
Steven Willhite had 2 tips for North Harrison. Brett Emig, Gavin Garrett, and Collin Castleberry had 1 each. Emig and Logan Craig had 2 steals each; Willhite and Garrett each had 1.
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