The Norris City-Omaha-Enfield Junior Cardinal basketball team wrapped up their week Thursday evening when they traveled to Wayne City to take on the Braves in a non conference match up.
This game did not get underway the way the Junior Cardinals had hoped for as they were struggling to make a shot early on and quickly fell behind 5-0. At this time, Preston Long would come alive on the offensive end and go on his own 5-0 run to tie the contest. From here on out, the first quarter would be fairly balanced, but as the buzzer sounded, NCOE would manage to claim the 13-12 lead. Second quarter action would be where the Junior Cardinals would start to pull away from the Braves. NCOE was managing to drive to the basket, and when the defense would collapse, they would kick out to the open man; for the most part, the shot was successful. This inside out game proved very effective as the Jr. Cards outscored the Braves, 24-10, to increase their lead to 15 points heading into the locker room at halftime.
Second half action picked up right where the Junior Cardinals left off as they managed to go on another offensive run. This time NCOE would outscore their opponent 21-10 to stretch their lead to 26, heading into the fourth and final quarter. With the game in control, the Junior Cardinals relaxed a little and would find their opponent topping them in the fourth quarter of play by two points. This, however, did not change the outcome as NCOE collected the 66-43 victory. NCOE now stands at 16-1 and will be back in action Thursday, December 20, when they travel to Crab Orchard to take on the Trojans in a 4:00 game. This will be a varsity only contest.
Cord Tucker had a stellar shooting performance from behind the arc as he would connect on 11 of 15 three point attempts to lead the team with 33 points. This would also find Tucker breaking his previous record for most made three pointers in a game. Preston Long would also hit double digits in the game with 13 points. Others scoring for the Junior Cardinals were Erik Healy nine points, Joel Hortin eight points, and Austin Surratt three points. Long dished out a team high eight assists on the night, followed by Hortin with four, Healy three, Tucker one, Colby Prather one, and Tate Riggs one.
Joel Hortin was a force underneath the basket, as he collected nine rebounds to lead the team. Erik Healy would yank down eight boards of his own followed by Preston Long with seven, Jaden Simmons three, Cord Tucker one, Colby Prather one, and Austin Surratt one. Long led the team with four steals while Hortin added three, Tucker one, Nolan Prather one, Lane Connaway one, and Hayden Mathis one.
First quarter action would prove to be the difference in the Jayvee game as the Junior Cardinals found themselves trailing by just three points, 7-4, when the buzzer sounded. NCOE would manage to cut this deficit to just two points at halftime, when they outscored Wayne City 12-11 in the second quarter of play.
Following intermission, the Junior Cardinals would battle the Braves back and forth, but unfortunately for NCOE, they would finish the third quarter trailing by four points as Wayne City would manage to outscore them 11-9. The fourth and final stanza was very entertaining and would witness several times, but as time was winding down, Wayne City would manage to pull out to a three point lead.
With seconds remaining, the Junior Cardinals would get off the final shot to tie the contest and force overtime, but the shot would not fall and NCOE would suffer the 42-39 defeat. This loss drops the Junior Cardinals to 3-7 on the season.
Spencer Shipp and Hayden Mathis would each pour in 12 points for the Jr Cards to share scoring honors. Others scoring for NCOE were Tate Riggs seven, Nolan Prather four, Zeke Baumgart two, and Lane Connaway two. Mathis also dished out a team high three assists followed by Brockton Washburn with two, and Riggs one.
The rebounding category was topped by Hayden Mathis as he ripped down 13 boards followed closely by Spencer Shipp with 10. Others collecting rebounds were Zeke Baumgart three, Nolan Prather one, and Brockton Washburn one. Tate Riggs was credited with two steals in the game while Spencer Shipp and Lane Connaway each added one.
