Northeastern Wins In Thriller

A tight game; one that fans like, but coaches dread.  Although it helps give experience to the team, it is still something that most coaches are happy with once they are over.  That was just the case when the Plainsmen would host the McCook Indians.  The Indians would defeat the Plainsmen at their place, but Northeastern knew that they are a better team then what they showed last time they played.  McCook is a team that will give their opponents a chance to win, but at the same time, will take advantage of their opponents mistakes and go on a run.  For the Plainsmen to win, they would need to play solid throughout both halves and not give the Indians any chance for them to make a run.

The game would begin with both teams trading points for the first seven minutes.  The Plainsmen would then get hot and go on an 18-8 run to give them some breathing room.  But just as the Plainsmen feared, they would give the Indians a little light at the end of the tunnel, and they would get hot themselves and bring the game back within three with just over a minute to play.  The Plainsmen would react in a cool, calm, collective way, take advantage of the final minute, and build their lead back up to seven.  At half, Northeastern would lead 44-37.

In the second half, the Plainsmen would find themselves getting stagnant and would give up their lead, as McCook would tie it up at 46 at the 17-minute mark.  But once again, the men did not panic and slowly get themselves back in the lead by 11 with seven minutes remaining in the game.  Northeastern was starting to play very conservatively, hitting the open man, not making unnecessary fouls, and working the shot clock down.  The Indians would not count themselves out and would get energized as they would get a few dunks, and get themselves a few charging calls against the Plainsmen.  With under a minute to play, the Indians were only down by one points, which made them play the foul game.  Jalen Guidry and Mohammad Elradi would come up clutch for the Plainsmen and hit all their foul shots, which would keep the Indians at bay, giving the Plainsmen the 87-83 victory.

The Plainsmen will play their final Region IX conference game for hoops homecoming against the North Platte Knights on Saturday February 17 at 7:30 pm.