Lions shoot lights out to down Mustangs
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway senior forward Ben Hart glides through the lane for a shot attempt on Thursday night against St. Joseph Christian, a 64-46 loss for the Mustangs.
St. Joseph Christian came out on fire from deep, knocking down three-ball after three-ball, and the North Nodaway boys’ basketball team couldn’t match the Lions shooting on Thursday night.
After St. Joseph Christian buried four three-pointers in the first quarter alone, three from junior Austin Turner, it went on to a 64-46 win against the Mustangs in Hopkins.
Turner finished the night with 20 points to lead the Lions to victory, while junior Peyton Coleman led North Nodaway with 30.
“Honestly, the scouting report was to let (Turner) shoot. That’s what we did,” North Nodaway head coach Jake Shipman said. “He did a good job of getting in and finding our holes and that kind of stuff to where he found the right spots to go. He stepped up and made shots there. A lot of times when guys are that open they hesitate a little bit and the hesitation kills them. He stepped up and didn’t think twice about it.”
Turner got St. Joseph Christian out to its hot start by knocking down a triple from the right wing to start the contest, leading an 8-0 run off the bat.
Another 7-0 spurt for the Lions in the first quarter boosted that lead to 20-7 and forced the Mustangs out of their 2-3 zone. Coleman ended the spree with 1:29 to go in the opening frame by finishing at the rim.
Mustangs senior forward Ben Hart beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter to narrow the deficit to 24-11.
However, St. Joseph Christian started hot again in the second period, firing out to a 12-0 beginning to the period behind a three-pointer from junior Garrett Cassity.
“Holy moly, man,” Shipman said of the Lions’ start. “I talked to three or four other coaches, and I didn’t see them coming out like that. They played well. They’re just a good team. Hats off to them, they beat us. Straight up, they beat us.”
Again it was Coleman putting a stop to the bleeding with 4:12 left until halftime on a right-wing triple, but the Lions had already boosted their lead to 36-14 and would increase it to 43-22 by halftime.
“I didn’t really know what to tell (our players),” Shipman said. “They were kind of just star struck a little bit. You kind of have to take a step back. We weren’t getting anything our way at all. Our shots weren’t falling, and everything they were throwing up was falling. That’s a bad mixture. … I didn’t know if they were going to miss there for a while.”
The Mustangs came out in the third playing the way they aimed to at the start, sticking with the Lions throughout the quarter.
St. Joseph Christian found things harder on the offensive end, tallying just 12 points in the third period compared to its first half outburst while taking a 55-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
“The biggest thing that we’ve been talking about this week is toughness,” Shipman said. “I asked them if we were tough or just talk. I think that kind of fired them up a little bit. You saw the real North Nodaway team come out in the second half. We beat them by three in the second half. … That was just pride to step up and show, alright, we’re not this bad.”
The Lions continued working toward their inevitable win with a 7-0 start to the fourth quarter until Hart hit a free throw with 6:38 left in the contest to end the spurt.
Hart finished the night with eight points for North Nodaway behind Coleman. Sophomore Simon Maize scored 10 points for the Lions behind Turner.
North Nodaway (13-8) has three regular season contests left before district play begins. The Mustangs will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tarkio.
The Class 1, District 15 Tournament starts for North Nodaway with a 5:45 p.m. tip on Tuesday, Feb. 23 against East Buchanan at Stanberry.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Junior Peyton Coleman scores two of his 30 points on Thursday night for North Nodaway, though his high total came in a 64-46 loss to St. Joseph Christian.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Mustangs senior Koby Reynolds slices between a pair of St. Joseph Christian defenders on Thursday during North Nodaway’s home loss, 64-46.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Senior Wyatt Tate lines up a baseline jumper on Thursday night during North Nodaway’s 64-46 loss to St. Joseph Christian in Hopkins.
