Mustangs take second after memorable week in PVI
JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
North Nodaway senior Aydan Blackford handles the ball on Friday night in Bearcat Arena.
MARYVILLE, Mo.— The North Nodaway boys basketball team had Hopkins buzzing all week and on Friday night, the Mustangs (3-1) had Bearcat Arena roaring. After the last three years of struggles, the team started this season 3-0 and played on their home floor to punch their ticket to the Platte Valley Invitational championship.
“It has shown how much we have improved throughout the summer,” North Nodaway senior Aydan Blackford said. “It is good to get confidence like that in us. This is one of those games that we can come back and learn from and that is important for us to prepare for the rest of our opponents.”
On Friday, they took their talents to Bearcat Arena for the championship game against St. Joseph Christian and fell 75-51, but for coach Cody Jenkins, one loss isn’t going to define what all his team took from this week’s tournament.
“I think we learned a lot about ourselves,” Jenkins said. “We figured out some places that we can definitely improve on and we still found some positives in this. We can still be an aggressive team that knows how to play. We know how to play together and we can win games. … Coming out of an early-season tournament with a second-place win I think is huge for a group like this.”
It was a disastrous opening quarter for North Nodaway as the Lions’ Nick Orscheln got hot and they couldn’t cool him off. Orscheln had 13 of the Lions’ 20 first-quarter points as the lead was 20-6 after one quarter.
“We beat a pretty good DeKalb team, we beat a really good Nodaway Valley team and we kinda ran into a buzzsaw in St. Joe Christian,” Jenkins said. “They were hitting a lot of shots. They put those four guards around their big and when they can shoot the ball like they did tonight, they are really tough to guard.”
Blackford attempted to keep his team within striking distance, but even 29 points from the senior couldn’t stand up to the 12 3-pointers that Christian stroked. The 3-point barrage had St. Joseph Christian in front 39-23 at halftime.
“He leads by example,” Jenkins said of Blackford.
In addition to the hot shooting, Christian’s ball pressure presented problems for the Mustangs.
“Their defense is something you can’t imitate,” Jenkins said.
A bright spot for North Nodaway this week has been the continued development of sophomore post player Blaine Clements, who had seven points. The Mustangs start a 5-guard lineup, but Clements has provided major minutes off the bench.
“It really helps having those seniors around you that have the experience and know what they are doing,” Clements said. “… I try to go out there and do the best that I can for my team.”
St. Joseph Christian was able to pull away for the 24-point victory as Orscheln had 23 points, Johnston Stewart had 21 and Cy Carlson had 14.
For North Nodaway, in addition to Blackford’s 29 and Clements’ seven, Mason Casner had seven while Owen Martin and Ethan Fry had four each.
“They are the reason why we are better now,” Blackford said of his younger teammates.
The Mustangs will travel to East Harrison on Friday.
“One hundred percent — we can build right off of this,” Clements said.
