As the visiting Crab Orchard Trojans jumped out to the early 12-7 first quarter lead, it appeared Thursday night was not shaping up to be the game that the NCOE Jr. Cards had hoped. However, the second quarter seemed to go much smoother for NCOE when they applied some defensive pressure and took advantage of the Crab Orchard turnovers by converting on the offensive end to outscore the Trojans 12-9 in the second quarter and inch closer to only trail 21-19 at the halftime break.
Following halftime, NCOE kept up the defensive pressure and posted a monstrous scoring performance in the third quarter as they outscored their opponent 17-7 to take their first lead in the contest at 36-28, with one quarter remaining. This third quarter surge could not have come at a better time for the Jr. Cards because the fourth quarter proved to be nothing but scoring woes for both teams as Crab Orchard and NCOE could only muster six combined fourth quarter points. This last quarter scoring slump did not matter in the end for it would be the Jr. Cards capitalizing from their third quarter performance as they marched on to defeat the Trojans by a final score of 40-30. This win pushed the NCOE record to 6-4 overall and 3-2 in the Little Greater Egyptian Conference.
Jack Riggs topped all Jr. Cardinal scorers with 17 points in the contest. Others scoring were Devon Lawless nine, CJ Richardson six, Ty Money six, and Trey Simmons two. Ty Money dished out five assists to lead the team followed by two from Trey Simmons and one from Ty Lane.
Devon Lawless grabbed 10 boards to lead the team in rebounds. Others collecting rebounds were Ty Money seven, Joe Melton six, Jack Riggs six, Trey Simmons four, CJ Richardson three, Prestyn Karns one, and Ty Lane one. CJ Richardson, Jack Riggs, and Trey Simmons paced the team with four steals a piece while Ty Money collected two, Devon Lawless two, and one apiece for Joe Melton and Bryce Jolley.
The junior varsity contest found the Jr. Cards picking up yet another victory to improve their overall record to 5-1 on the season. The first quarter was very balanced between the two teams, as each put eight points on the board. Second quarter action found the Jr. Cards putting some space between them and their opponent behind three big three pointers from CJ Richerson to pull out to as even point lead at halftime.
Nathaniel Wilson added to the three point attack in the third quarter as he knocked down two of his own, but no other Jr. Cardinal would be able to score and the Jr. Trojans narrowed the gap as they headed into the fourth quarter. This final quarter would be one with lots of fouls and NCOE would convert five of these free throws to go on to grab the 34-26 win.
CJ Richerson led all scorers with 11 points followed by nine each from Nathaniel Wilson and Peyton Edwards, three from Lucas Browning, and two from Aryon Jolley. Nathaniel Wilson topped all players with four assists. Others claiming assists were Peyton Edwards two, Joe Melton two, and one a piece by CJ Richerson and Lucas Browning.
Peyton Edwards was the rebound leader as he grabbed 14 boards followed by nine from Lucas Browning, five from Joe Melton, four from CJ Richerson, two from Gabe Largent, and one apiece from Cole Roberson, Dakota Sheldon, and Nathaniel Wison. CJ Richerson’s four steals led the team in this category while others collecting a steal were Peyton Edwards, Joe Melton, Lucas Browning, and Dakota Sheldon.
The Jr. Cardinals will venture to Hamilton County on Monday, November 23 to take on the Jr. Foxes.
