Coach Jimmy Goebel’s NCOE Junior Cardinal Basketball team had lost nary a game in the Little Greater Egyptian Conference play all season long, and they were set to put everything on the line against a Carrier Mills Wildcat team whom had only lost one game in conference play to determine the LGEC Conference Championship.
When the game got underway, it was apparent the Wildcat team that had trailed by over 20 points and lost by 13 points just two weeks prior to the Junior Cardinals was not the same Wildcat team. Carrier Mills came out with intense defensive pressure which caused NCOE several problems finding open looks as well as creating numerous Jr. Cardinal turnovers. On the flip side, NCOE was almost as impressive with their defense as the Wildcats struggled to put the ball in the basket just the same. When the first quarter came to a close the Jr. Cards would trail by three points as the 4-1 score would find NCOE facing their lowest point total in a quarter thus far this season. Second quarter action would be more of the same on the both ends of the court as both teams were only able to add two more points to their totals which resulted in the Junior Cardinals trailing by three as they headed into the locker room for intermission.
Following halftime, both teams hit the court hoping to gain a much needed advantage in order to win the championship trophy. Although the offense would pick up just a bit neither team was able to ever pull away from the other as the lead would change hands but as the stanza closed, Carrier Mills would still cling to 13-12 advantage. The final seven minutes of the contest would witness both teams scoring more points than they had the entire game thus far. In fact, the final minute would consist of 10 Wilcat points along with 9 Jr. Cardinal points, but with the seconds winding down NCOE could not overcome the 10/10 fourth quarter free throw shooting of Carrier Mills as they fell by the final score of 33-28.
Top seeded NCOE standing at 19-4 claimed second place in the Little Greater Egyptian Conference while their 19-4 second seeded opponent pulled off the upset to claim first place. Rounding out the other places would be: 3rd-Gallatin County, 4th-Crab Orchard, 5th-Hardin County, and 6th-Thompsonville.
With shots not falling, scoring was limited for the Junior Cardinals but at the same time very spread out as Joe Melton would top all NCOE players with eight points. Jack Riggs would add six, followed by Jacob Richerson with five, CJ Richardson five, Ty Money two, and Nathaniel Wilson two. Assists were led by Wilson with two while Melton, Riggs, Money, and Richerson would each collect one a piece.
Joe Melton would claim rebounding honors as he collected eight boards. Others with rebounds were Jacob Richerson four, CJ Richardson four, Jack Riggs three, Ty Money three, Lucas Browning two, and Nathaniel Wilson two. Melton would also be credited with one block in the contest. Both teams struggled taking care of the ball due to impressive defense by each squad. Due to this intense defense, CJ Richardson would collect a team high five steals followed by Jacob Richerson with four, Ty Money three, Joe Melton two, Jack Riggs two, and Nathaniel Wilson one.
