North Harrison’s boys looked like they were in midseason form Tuesday, November 27th and North Nodaway once again has to deal with an injury to a key player as the Shamrocks won 59-32 in the first game of the year for both teams.
North Nodaway has had a history of struggling with injuries during the early part of the season, as Aydan Blackford went down twice to football injuries and the Mustangs never got off the ground. Last year, with Blackford finally healthy, they won 15 games. Now, they have to deal with the loss of Owen Martin, who was in the boot for Tuesday’s game. While not the scoring machine that Blackford was, he has made all sorts of hustle plays for the Mustangs, and they have struggled without him on the floor.
Meanwhile, North Harrison is defying expectations for this year. They got key player Wyatt Maize back from a football injury, and they have two starting freshmen in Jensen Davis and Gage Fortner and another, Ryker Fortner, who played a lot of minutes. Thought to be down this year from the loss of Keygun Johnson and Jerry Gilpatrick, the returners and the newcomers have meshed in just fine.
For the Shamrocks, the goal will be to stay out of a comfort zone. Three years ago, they started off the season with an impressive 61-29 win over North Nodaway in Hopkins, only to fall off a cliff and win only eight games that year, including a game in which they handed Trenton its only win that year.
North Harrison immediately jumped on the Mustangs, getting a 3-pointer and a layup off a steal from Wyatt Maize. Dustin Hamilton got loose in transition and Andrew Craig scored off a Hamilton steal to make it 9-0. For Craig, he has shown steady improvement each year, showing that he is a bull in a China shop down low and has shown a newfound ability to run the floor this year. He can afford to be aggressive as the Shamrocks can throw Owan Roberson in to spell him.
For North Nodaway, Jordan DeLeon, who has excelled on the track, grew a few inches since last season and broke into the starting lineup this year. Now one of the tallest kids on the squad, he made his presence felt as he got a putback for North Nodaway’s first points of the season. Wyatt Maize scored off a drive and Jensen Davis scored his first of many points as a Shamrock with a 3-pointer before Trevin Wyllie, a sparkplug from last year for the Mustangs, scored three to close out the first quarter and Mason Casner scored a three point play to start the second to cut it to 14-8.
Gage Fortner scored off a drive and pullup and added a steal and fed Andrew Craig to make it 18-8 before picking up his third foul. North Nodaway started to find its footing and played evenly with the Shamrocks for much of the remainder of the second before some late triples from Wyatt Maize and Jensen Davis put the Shamrocks on top 33-17 at the half.
Wyatt Maize aired one out to Jensen Davis for a layup, Maize scored off a steal, and Andrew Craig went backdoor to push the Shamrock lead over 20 at 39-17 to start the second half. Jordan DeLeon scored from inside and then Trevin Wyllie tried to spark the Mustangs with a pair of three point plays to cut it to 41-25, but then free throws from Wyatt Maize, a triple from Davis, and a free throw and a putback from Andrew Craig put the Shamrocks up 49-27 before Mason Casner’s free throw cut it to 49-28 after three. There was a glimmer of hope for the Mustangs as both Shamrock big men Andrew Craig and Owan Roberson were at four fouls. Get them both out and North Nodaway could make a huge run.
But after Owan Roberson picked up his fifth foul to start the fourth quarter, Andrew Craig managed to play the whole fourth quarter without fouling as the Shamrocks continued to pull away. Gage Fortner hit back to back jacks to give the Shamrocks a 55-28 lead at the 3:24 mark of the fourth. Jordan DeLeon got untracked in the paint for the Mustangs, scoring twice, but then Jensen Davis scored off a Gage Fortner steal and Tate Richardson scored off a Landon Johnson steal to push it up to 59-32.
For North Nodaway, Trevin Wyllie had a career high of 13. Jordan DeLeon, seeing his first extended varsity action, scored 9. Mason Casner had 7, Blaine Clements 2, and Ridge Clements 1.
Blaine Clements had 3 blocks. Jordan DeLeon had 2.
Blaine Clements had 8 rebounds. Jordan DeLeon had 7, Mason Casner 4, Ridge Clements, Trevin Wyllie, and Aiden James 2 each, and Kaeden Nave 1.
Trevin Wyllie and Mason Casner had 2 assists. Ridge Clements, Jordan DeLeon, and Blaine Clements had 1.
Blaine Clements had 5 tips. Kaeden Nave and Ridge Clements each had 1.
Trevin Wyllie had 3 steals. Kaeden Nave had 2 and Mason Casner and Blaine Clements had 1.
For North Harrison, Wyatt Maize and Jensen Davis had 16 each. Andrew Craig had 13, Gage Fortner 8, Dustin Hamilton 4, and Tate Richardson 2.
Dustin Hamilton had 1 block.
Andrew Craig had 9 boards. Evan Schreiber and Gage Fortner had 5 each, Jensen Davis and Wyatt Maize 3, Owan Roberson and Ryker Fortner 2, and Dustin Hamilton 1.
Wyatt Maize picked up right where he left off as an assist machine for the Shamrocks, picking up 6. Ryker Fortner had 4, Jensen Davis 3, Evan Schreiber and Gage Fortner 2, and Dustin Hamilton and Landon Johnson 1. The big difference in the game was the ball movement by both teams; North Harrison had 19 assists to only seven for North Nodaway.
Wyatt Maize had 4 tips. Gage Fortner, Dustin Hamilton, and Tate Richardson had 2, and Jensen Davis, Kyler Kimbrough, Ryker Fortner, and Landon Johnson had 1.
Wyatt Maize had 3 steals. Gage Fortner, Ryker Fortner, and Dustin Hamilton had 2 each. Evan Schreiber, Jensen Davis, and Landon Johnson had 1.
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