Mustangs unable to answer Tarkio’s size in defeat
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway junior forward Peyton Coleman drives through the Tarkio defense during the Mustang’s 60-49 loss on Wednesday in the Fairfax Tournament.
Wednesday’s semifinal contest in the Fairfax Basketball Tournament turned into North Nodaway’s Peyton Coleman against Tarkio’s Connor Shaw.
The battle between the Mustangs’ junior forward Coleman and the Indians’ senior forward Shaw nearly came out even, but it was Tarkio ending the contest on top to head to the tournament’s championship. The Indians used their size and fundamental play — plus a pair of fourth quarter runs — to take down the top-seeded Mustangs, 60-49.
“The Shaw kid is definitely one of the best in the area,” Mustangs head coach Jake Shipman said. “For us, we just turned the ball over too much. Just mental mistakes. … We just came out flat and didn’t take care of the ball near as well as we should’ve, especially since we’re the No. 1 seed. We dug a hole that we spent the whole game trying to get out of.”
Tarkio put its size advantage to work in the first quarter, pushing its way to the rim for easy baskets inside undersized North Nodaway’s defense.
But the Mustangs answered with slick shooting and an ability to move the ball around the floor until finding an easier path to the rim. With both teams going back and forth, it resulted in seven lead changes in the opening quarter.
North Nodaway junior forward Peyton Coleman knotted the score at 12-12 with a three-pointer from the right wing with 1:38 to go in the first frame, and tied things up again with less than 10 seconds to go on a driving layup. Coleman’s lay-in sent the score to 16-16 at the end of one.
After the back-and-forth first quarter, Tarkio claimed a steady lead in the second. A drop-step bucket from Shaw gave the Indians a 23-22 lead. On the next possession, Shaw converted an and-one to give the Indians a 26-24 advantage that stuck until halftime.
“Shaw is the first big guy that we’ve seen that steps outside the lane,” Shipman said. “And we have problems with guys that don’t even step outside the lane. … (Tarkio’s size) definitely switched up our matchups a lot.
“Going in, we knew we had the better guards. We thought we should try and take advantage of that by getting some turnovers. Our guards handled the pressure and they stepped up and made some big shots.”
A 9-2 spurt in favor of Tarkio gave it a 32-27 lead late in the opening half before eventually securing a 32-29 lead at halftime.
North Nodaway came alive in the third quarter, piecing together nine straight points to climb back on top. Senior guard Koby Reynolds knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Mustangs a 40-39 advantage before the spurt ended with them on top, 42-39.
“It seemed like we were clawing the whole night, finally got a lead, and it didn’t even feel like we had a lead,” Shipman said. “It just felt like it was even again. Tarkio did everything they needed to do to win. They’re very fundamental. … We didn’t really capitalize on offense. We didn’t stick with the game plan.”
Tarkio answered with an 8-0 run of its own that extended into the fourth quarter, going up by five points, 47-42, as Shaw showed his dominance in the post.
Coleman converted an and-one opportunity to narrow the gap to 51-49, but the Indians scored the final nine points of the contest to close things out at the free throw line.
Shaw finished with 28 and the victory, while Coleman racked up a game-high 29 points in defeat. Reynolds finished with 12 for the Mustangs.
North Nodaway (10-4) will play in the Fairfax Tournament third-place game at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Its opponent was determined Wednesday night between Nodaway-Holt and St. Joseph Christian, but results were unavailable as of press time.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Mustangs senior guard Koby Reynolds tears around the edge before looking toward the rim on Wednesday as his side lost a 60-49 decision in the Fairfax Tournament to Tarkio.
