NMCC goes ice cold in 2nd half

NMCC -- A poor second half performance by the New Madrid County Central Eagles sent the home crowd away disappointed Friday night, as the visiting Doniphan Dons defeated the Eagles, 58-44.

After leading 35-32 at the half, the Eagles only managed to score nine more points throughout the second half.

"I think it was a step back for us after coming off the SEMO Conference Tournament," Eagles head coach Travis Day said. "I think we missed a couple of defensive components there where we didn't do what we normally do."

"It's just one of those things where when it went bad for us, it went bad quick. We just can't handle that right now."

Doniphan looked to be in control early, after leading 16-11 at the end of the first. But, NMCC came back strong and attained the lead, 29-28, with two minutes left in the second quarter.

A buzzer-beating lay-up by the Eagle's Dontre Jenkins sent NMCC into the half with a 35-32 lead.

After regrouping in the locker room, the Dons sprung into action.

Doniphan managed to take the lead back at the six minute mark, 39-37, and then go on a 15-2 run to finish the third quarter with a 54-39 lead.

"We had a snow ball effect," Day said. "One thing happened bad for us and we just couldn't fight through it."

Doniphan head coach Jason Andrews said he was pleased with the win and the effort his team put forth.

"It's a good win for us," Andrews said. "New Madrid County has got tons of potential. I think they started two or three sophomores and those kids are impact players."

Andrews went on to say, that the way his team got after the boards was the key to the victory.

"I liked the way we rebounded tonight, I thought that was a big point of the game and that's something that we really emphasized. We're small but we have got to rebound and I thought we did a really good job of that."

Dontre Jenkins led the Eagles with 14 points. Bryan Waters added seven and was 3-4 from the free throw line.

The Dons top scorer was Charles Wilson with 29 points. Wilson also pulled down nine rebounds and was 7-10 from the line. Tyler Collins chipped in with 17. Chandler Wilson and Greg Davis both had six points apiece.

NMCC will hope to turn it around next time when they host Blytheville, Ark. on Tuesday.

Junior Varsity

The New Madrid County Central junior varsity team faired a little better than their peers Friday night, as they went on to defeat the Dons, 49-39.

The Eagles jumped out to a 23-8 lead in the first, and was never threatened again.

NMCC was led by G'Darius Stevenson's 10 points. Jeremy James also added nine.

Cody Asay led the Dons with 11 points.