Lucas Frisch sparked the Worth County basketball team to their first win Monday as they beat North Nodaway 27-23. Worth County fell 55-49 against an improved King City squad and then dug themselves into a hole against Pattonsburg, who was supposed to be the tailender this year. Frustrated skipper Les New was going up and down the bench trying to find someone who could play. It was Frisch, who had never played basketball before this year, who nearly brought the Tigers back from the dead with the same hell-bent approach he brings to the football field as the Tigers rallied to tie before Pattonsburg won it on a late shot 43-41.
Worth County was supposed to be solid in basketball this year, but Bo Collins did not come out this year (groin). With Collins on the floor last year, they were one of the top teams in the area. Without him during three games late in the year, they were totally out of sync and lost two and barely beat tailender East Atchison. Worth County is also without Caleb New, who had surgery on his knee and is still out after missing the entire football season. He was a key cog in the wheel last year as well. With enemy defenses no longer having to worry about focusing on Bo Collins or Tyler New, the Tigers have found points much harder to come by this year.
For his efforts in the Pattonsburg game, Frisch earned the starting job Monday, but at first, nothing worked. After Cole Ruby hit two free throws to begin the game, North Nodaway looked like they were ready to rediscover the form that had won them 15 games last year after they had rallied to make things interesting against St. Joseph Christian. Free throws from Mason Casner and Blaine Clements, a 3-pointer from Clements, two more free throws from Casner after Jordan DeLeon had aired one out to him, and a 3-pointer from Kaeden Nave put them up 10-2 after one.
But one of the strengths of the Tigers this year is their refusal to go down quietly. They nearly erased a 15 point deficit against King City, nearly erased a deficit against Pattonsburg, and once again went to work in the second quarter. Despite horrific shooting from the Tigers from the field and a big rebounding advantage for North Nodaway, with 40 boards for the game to 31 for the Tigers, the boys started following the girls' lead and outplaying North Nodaway thanks to the giveaway/takeaway ratio. As the turnovers began to mount for North Nodaway, the Tigers started to come back as Hayden Sanders scored off a Cannon Fletcher steal. Cole Ruby scored after Lucas Frisch kept a possession alive with an offensive glass, Cannon Fletcher made one of two from the line after Lucas Frisch got a tip and Karson Briner got a steal, and Lucas Frisch got a putback to cut the Tiger deficit to 13-9 at the half. North Nodaway was hampered by foul trouble as Owen Martin picked up his third halfway through the period.
Despite four fouls from Karson Briner to start the third quarter, the Tigers continued to chip away as Ethan Lininger hit a free throw and Hayden Sanders hit a pullup to make it 13-12. After the score was stuck there for three minutes, with good looks at the basket by the Tigers fruitlessly clanking off the rim, Worth County finally got untracked when Franklynn Taute came off the bench and hit a 3-pointer to put them in front 15-13. Cannon Fletcher then got a tip, Cole Ruby got a steal, and fed Hayden Sanders, who finished a three point play to make it 18-13.
But then Trevin Wyllie, who has been seeking to establish himself as a sparkplug for the Mustangs along with Owen Martin, hit two free throws to break a 7+ minute scoring drought for North Nodaway. Four straight from Martin put North Nodaway back in front 19-18 at the start of the fourth.
Martin picked up his fourth foul and Cole Ruby put the Tigers back in front 21-19 at the 4:54 mark of the fourth quarter and then Jordan DeLeon got a putback to tie it at 21 with 2:41 left. North Nodaway had a chance to run down the clock and win in regulation, but Karson Briner got a steal, and in the ensuing scramble, Trevin Wyllie knocked it out of bounds and Worth County took a timeout. Worth County set up a play that looked like it was designed to go the wrong way, which led to confusion on North Nodaway's end and Worth County getting a point blank look at the basket. Karson Briner missed the point blank look, but got his own rebound and put it back in to make it 23-21. He drew Trevin Wyllie's fifth foul in the process; he missed the ensuing free throw, but North Nodaway was without one of their main players down the stretch.
North Nodaway ran it all the way down to 31.4 seconds, but couldn't penetrate the stingy Tiger defense and finally threw it away. They put on a full court press and Worth County barely crossed the line before 10 seconds and nearly threw it away before calling timeout with 19 seconds left. Kaeden Nave knocked it out of bounds on the first try, but on the second, Cannon Fletcher got it to Cole Ruby, who drove against North Nodaway, drew the foul, and hit both free throws with 15 seconds left to make it 25-21.
Worth County tried to press to keep North Nodaway from advancing it up the floor, but overextended and Owen Martin got the ball to Jordan DeLeon, who drew a foul with 10.7 seconds left. But he missed both free throws and Karson Briner hit both free throws with 9.9 seconds left after securing the defensive board. Owen Martin pushed it up the floor and missed, but DeLeon put it back in to cut it to 27-23 with 1.1 seconds left. North Nodaway had to try to get a five second call, but Worth County was able to inbound it to run out the clock.
For Worth County, Cole Ruby had 9, Hayden Sanders 7, Karson Briner 4, Franklynn Taute 3, Lucas Frisch 2, and Cannon Fletcher and Ethan Lininger 1.
Lucas Frisch had 3 blocks and Karson Briner 1.
Lucas Frisch and Karson Briner had 8 boards each. Cole Ruby, Andrew Griffin, and Ethan Lininger had 4, Hayden Sanders 2, and Franklynn Taute 1.
Hayden Sanders, Cole Ruby, and Ethan Lininger had 2 assists. Lucas Frisch, Karson Briner, and Cannon Fletcher had 1.
Cannon Fletcher, Cole Ruby, and Hayden Sanders each had 4 tips. Lucas Frisch and Ethan Lininger had 2 and Karson Briner and Franklynn Taute had 1.
Cole Ruby and Hayden Sanders had 3 steals. Cannon Fletcher, Karson Briner, and Lucas Frisch had 2, while Franklynn Taute had 1.
The giveaway/takeaway ratio was what got the Tigers back in the game after they had fallen behind 10-2 after one quarter. They only surrendered the ball nine times while forcing 22 Mustang turnovers.
For North Nodaway, Jordan DeLeon had 6 points. Mason Casner, Blaine Clements, and Owen Martin had 4, Kaeden Nave 3, and Trevin Wyllie had 2.
Blaine Clements had 2 blocks and Ridge Clements 1.
Blaine Clements had 12 boards. Jordan DeLeon had 8, Ridge Clements 7, Mason Casner 6, Trevin Wyllie 4, Kaeden Nave 2, and Owen Martin 1.
Trevin Wyllie had 2 assists. Jordan DeLeon, Mason Casner, Owen Martin, Blaine Clements, and Kaeden Nave all had 1.
Trevin Wyllie had 4 tips. Blaine Clements and Kaeden Nave had 3 each, and Mason Casner, Ridge Clements, and Owen Martin had 1. Blaine Clements had 2 steals and Owen Martin and Ridge Clements had 1.
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