North Nodaway’s boys grabbed consolation in the Gilman City Tournament after getting a lift from Marek Stevens, who posted a career high Friday night with 22 points in North Nodaway’s 55-42 win over Tri-County. They won their fifth and sixth games of the season, meaning they have matched their win total from last year with time to spare.
But first, they had to get past Union Star, who is showing signs of coming out of the cellar. Instead of a consolation elimination game, the game took on all the atmosphere of a championship game as the Mustangs led for most of the way and came away with the 39-35 win, but the game remained close until the end.
Aaron Pettijohn knotted the game at 6-6 early after the Mustangs had led most of the first quarter, but it looked like they might start pulling away after Jordan DeLeon scored off a drive and Kaeden Nave hit a 3-pointer to put the Mustangs up 11-6.
Jaxon Shoop drove and scored midway through the second quarter to cut it to 17-13, but it looked like the Mustangs were still in control after Jordan DeLeon cashed in a three-point play and Blaine Clements scored after DeLeon grabbed an offensive board to make it 22-13 with 1:11 left.
But one of the worst things a team can do is struggle to finish off halves, because it gives the other team momentum to start the second half. Shoop hit an NBA triple and Wyatt Jackson hit a free throw to cut it to 22-17 for Union Star.
Sure enough, the Trojans came out on fire, while North Nodaway was turning the ball over and hacking and fouling. The Trojans chipped away at the line all quarter, getting it to 22-20 before Jackson Shoop hit a 3-pointer and Aaron Pettijohn hit another to put Union Star up 26-22.
But Kaeden Nave stopped the bleeding for North Nodaway by hitting two free throws and then Blaine Clements followed with one, Jackson Keho followed with two more, and Ridge Clements got a putback following a wild scramble that put North Nodaway back up 29-26 at the third quarter buzzer.
Wyatt Jackson hit a free throw to cut it to 29-27 for Union Star, but Clements scored two, Kaeden Nave penetrated the high post and scored, and Ridge Clements added a drive to make it 34-27.
North Nodaway maintained at least a two possession lead until Shoop slashed and scored to make it 37-34 with 47 seconds left. Kaeden Nave made one of two to make it 38-34 with 46 seconds left and Shoop countered with a free throw to make it 38-35.
Marek Stevens missed both free throws with 22 seconds left, with the second going in and out. That gave Union Star a chance to tie. But Carter Heinrich lost a ball out of bounds with 5.7 seconds left, and Jackson Keho hit a free throw to seal it.
Kaeden Nave and Blaine Clements had 9 points. Jordan DeLeon had 8, Marek Stevens had 6, Jackson Keho 4, and Ridge Clements 3.
Against a Tri-County team that lost a lot of horses from their district final team last year but is still sporting a winning record, the Lady Mustangs lost 37-32 in a game that was tough to swallow
At first, the Mustangs were snakebit throughout the first quarter and couldn’t buy a bucket. They were shut out 7-0 before Lily Blane cashed in on a Lacy Riley steal to put them on the board.
Then, the Mustangs played their best quarter of the year, putting a clinic on offense and turning the tables. Zoey Phillips played some of her best ball all year and hit six, Eliza Clements dropped in a three, Lily Blane added 5, and Lacy Riley added a putback as the Mustangs led 17-9 at the half. Lacy Riley hit two free throws to start the third quarter to make it 19-9.
But a single defensive lapse, where the Mustangs failed to get back on defense and Dani Critten converted on the other end, was all that Tri-County needed to jumpstart themselves. They put on a press, and North Nodaway panicked, threw the ball away, and started hacking and fouling on defense as Tri-County started chipping away at the line. Finally, another defensive lapse, where Addison Dodds was left all alone for two, and a 3-pointer from Alexis Neely, put Tri-County back in front 21-19.
Eliza Clements hit her second 3-pointer of the night to stop the bleeding and Lily Blane drove and drew a foul, hitting one of two to make it 23-21. But a costly foul, Lacy Riley’s fourth, against one of Tri-County’s role players, sent her to the bench as Kamran Marrs made one of two to cut Tri-County’s deficit to 23-22 at the end of three.
Lily Blane grabbed an offensive board and cashed it in at the line, going one of two, but the hacking and fouling continued, and Jackie Wray picked up her fourth foul. Without North Nodaway’s two best defenders on the floor, Tri-County was beating them up and down the floor, with Neely all alone for a backdoor layup, Lily Turner and Allee Prescott beating them down the floor for two, and Neely hitting a 3-pointer to put Tri-County in front 31-24.
Eliza Clements temporarily stopped the bleeding with her third triple, but Neely got inside and scored, and Lily Turner slashed and scored to make it 35-27.
North Nodaway put together a frantic rally to bring themselves to within 35-33, but Turner slashed and scored to make it 37-33, and a costly travel call allowed Tri-County to seal the game.
Lily Blane had 11 for the Mustangs. Eliza Clements had 9, Zoey Phillips 5, and Lacy Riley and Jackie Wray 4.
In the consolation game, North Nodaway looked like they were going to be completely outplayed. Tri-County was feeding 6’6” Landon Dodds at will, and he scored 11 out of their first 15 points as North Nodaway trailed 15-7 after one.
Blaine Clements cut it to 15-12 after a backdoor layup, but Gabe Manning, Carter Fewins, and Dodds all chipped in as Tri-County built it up to 28-18. Marek Stevens hit two 3-pointers right before the half to make it 28-24, but Gabe Manning hit a 3-pointer and went coast to coast to make it 33-24 at the break and added a drive to make it 35-24.
North Nodaway got the ball into Jordan DeLeon, and he scored nine straight for the Mustangs to get them back to 39-31, but Tri-County still looked like they had it under control until Manning picked up his fourth foul. With Manning out, Marek Stevens hit two late 3-pointers to tie it at 39 after three, and the Mustangs pulled away for the win in the fourth.
Marek Stevens had 22 points. Jordan DeLeon had 15, Kaeden Nave had 7, Blaine Clements 5, Ridge Clements 3, and Jackson Keho 2.
Jordan DeLeon and Blaine Clements each had 14 boards against a tough rebounding squad.
Northeast Nodaway’s boys, after coming close again before falling 59-55 to South Holt in the consolation semifinals at King City, finally broke through against DeKalb for its second win of the year at 61-42. Bentin Roberts had 18, Wyatt Scadden 14, Liam Cordell and Reece Gray 11, and Lance Runde 7.
The rebounding was key in that game as the Bluejays grabbed 59. Lance Runde, who has saved his best games for DeKalb, had 18. He had 21 in a game last year. Bentin Roberts and Wyatt Scadden had 12, Reece Gray 7, Liam Cordell 6, Jude Archer 2, and Jace Burns and Chase Allen 1.
The girls twice came tantalizingly close to their first win of the year. Pitted against Maysville, a team with a winning record, they came within eight points, but fell 40-32. Against Stewartsville/Osborn, they did better against them than they did the first time, but fell 32-26.
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