For the second consecutive night, the Junior Cardinal basketball team ventured to Gallatin County to take part in the Gallatin County Tournament. This time, they would be taking on the Crab Orchard Trojans. Although they are another Little Greater Egyptian Conference Team, this game would not count towards either team’s conference record.
First quarter action would find points coming few and far between, but at the end, it would be Crab Orchard holding the one point lead at 5-4. NCOE would respond in the second quarter to claim the one point advantage at 6-5 which would knot everything up at 10-10 at halftime.
The third quarter found the Jr. Cards coming out flat and Crab Orchard coming out with offensive energy. As the quarter came to a close, it would be the Trojans outscoring the Jr. Cards 10-4 to take the 20-14 lead with only one quarter remaining.
At this time, NCOE stepped it up defensively, allowing only two fourth quarter points to Crab Orchard compared to their 15. This defensive halt enabled the Jr. Cards to post the 29-22 come-from-behind victory. This win improved NCOE’s record to 3-2 on the season, along with placing them in what will be the championship game against Gallatin County on Friday evening, as both teams are undefeated in the tournament.
Jack Riggs was the top scorer for NCOE with 12 points. Others scoring were Trey Simmons five points, Ty Money four points, CJ Richardson three points, Ty Lane two points, Spencer Taylor two points, and Joe Melton one point. Ty Money led the way with assists as he dished out a team high three, followed by CJ Richardson’s two, and one each from Jack Riggs, Trey Simmons, and Devon Lawless.
CJ Richardson proved to be the big man down low grabbing eight rebounds. Others collecting rebounds were Devon Lawless six, Ty Money five, Joe Melton three, Jack Riggs three, and Ty Lane two. Trey Simmons led the way for NCOE with three steals followed by two from Ty Money and one each from Spencer Taylor, CJ Richardson, and Devon Lawless.
