NCOE high school cheerleaders take first place in competition at the GEC
tournament on Saturday, Feb. 1.
The Greater Egyptian Conference Tournament wrapped up Saturday night in the Deaton Gymnasium on Southeastern Illinois College’s main campus with an upset win. Gallatin County took home first place with their victory over Crab Orchard, while the NCOE Cardinals had to settle for third place, with a win over Hardin County. The week-long event, hosted this year by the Cardinals, featured some great basketball and a good preview of the coming post season.
Monday, Jan. 27
Action opened on Monday with an upset, as #5 Hardin County outlasted #4 Carrier Mills 53-50. In the nightcap, #1 Crab Orchard had no problem with #8 Pope County, cruising to a 75-31 win.
Tuesday, Jan. 28
#3 NCOE opened their tournament against #6 Thompsonville to begin Tuesday’s action. The Cardinals took command early and were able to fend off the Tiger’s attack to advance 55-44. Once again, the Cardinals’ victory came in the second half, where they looked much stronger than in the first, something Coach Bryon Graven has been concerned about all season.
“We have a problem coming out ready to play from the tip off.” Graven said. “We have preached that we have to play four quarters of basketball. We can’t just rely on that second half to win.”
In the second game, #2 Gallatin County survived a scare from the Galatia Bearcats, who were ranked #7. Galatia played a great game, but came up short, falling 58-55 to the Hawks. Gallatin’s win set up a rematch between themselves and NCOE, who had played just over a week before.
Thursday, Jan. 30
Taking an evening off on Wednesday, the teams’ action resumed in the consolation bracket, with Thompsonville facing Galatia in game one. The Bearcats didn’t fare as well, dropping the contest to the Tigers 68-50 to fall into the seventh place game.
Thompsonville would go on to face Carrier Mills in the consolation championship with the Wildcats crushing Pope County 69-34.
Friday, Jan. 31
As the weekend began, the action heated up. The night opened with Galatia taking 7th place with a win over Pope County.
NCOE then faced Gallatin County in a 2-3 matchup. The Cardinals, though, couldn’t repeat their success from a week prior and fell to the Hawks 51-48.
“We got out rebounded, had more turnovers, and let them shoot more freethrows than we did,” Graven said. “It’s hard to win when you do that against a good team.” In the final game of the night, Crab Orchard got past Hardin County 64-59 to set up the Hawks and Tigers in the championship game Saturday.
Saturday, Feb. 1
As the calendar page turned to Febuary, the action at SIC heated up. The night opened with the consolation championship game that saw Thompsonville downing Carrier Mills 53-48. The Tigers earned a well deserved trophy, having fought hard all week.
In the third place contest, NCOE faced off against a suprising Hardin County squad, who had another upset in mind, and gave the Cardinals everything they had for four quarters.
“Hardin played us really tough out there tonight, and it took a whole team effort to win,” said Graven following the trophy presentation. “They played a great game, but we just were able to out last them. All week we had guys step up and do things to help us win.”
“Jacob Taylor had an outstanding tournament, doing things that won’t show up in a box score, but without him out there, we would have been hurting,” Graven said of his senior forward. “JT has been such an important part of this team, especially on defense, and I don’t think he’s gotten enough credit.”
Gallatin County had one more suprise up their sleeve as they knocked off Crab Orchard in a thrilling final. The Hawks took the GEC crown, handing the Trojans their first loss against a conference opponent this season.
While the Cardinals had to settle for third, their biggest supporters got some well deserved hardware. Coach Brooklyn Naas’ cheer squad took home top honors in their competition, winning for the first time in eighteen years. The ladies have worked extremely hard since before the season began, and their efforts payed off in front of the harsh outside judging.
NCOE now looks at finishing up their conference season with games remaining against Galatia, Crab Orchard, Thompsonvile, and Carrier Mills, as well as non-conference foes Grayville and Wayne City. The Cardinals now try to refocus, and get ready for Regionals.
“From this point on, we have to ask ourselves if we are giving maximum effort every minute of every game,” Graven explained. “If anything, it gets harder from here on out, but if we work hard and stay on track, I think we can take on anyone.”
