01/28/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
HARRISBURG – Sometimes something as simple as a three minute stretch of time in a basketball game can swing the outcome of the contest.

The Norris City-Omaha-Enfield Fighting Cardinals used the final 1:37 of the second quarter and the first two and a half minutes of the second half to go on a 14-2 run.

Despite the efforts of Thompsonville, Coach Jordan Johnson's club held off all of the Tigers' efforts to rally late.

NCOE advanced to the championship bracket semifinals with a 54-42 win Tuesday night.

The Cards improved to 9-10 overall with their sixth-consecutive triumph.

Four different players hit for double-figures in scoring on Tuesday for NCOE in the victory.

Five-eleven junior Caden Sexton led the outside assault with five 3-pointers, three of which came in the third quarter.

Sexton ended up with 17-points overall in the win with a pair of key fourth quarter free throws that helped secure the quarterfinal win.

“Sexton is our best shooter. He's had a few games this year where he has hit four or five 3's for us. We did a good job kicking the ball out to him and our shooters,” said Coach Johnson. “We knew when we spread them out we could beat them off of the dribble. We just tried to take advantage of it.”

Junior Javan Garrett added 13-points for the Cardinals, including 7-of-10 from the foul line.

NCOE hit 11-of-16 from the stripe, 5-of-6 in the final 1:03 of the fourth quarter.

Jaxon Simmons added 10-points in the victory as did junior Owen Russell.

Conner Graves, a junior, added four-points in the first half to round out the scoring for Norris City-Omaha-Enfield.

Thompsonville saw its mark slip to 7-13 as they will play in the consolation semifinals on Thursday night.

Head coach Kevin Smith's Tigers couldn't claw their back to a lead in the final minutes.

Senior guard Gavin Sandy paced Thompsonville with 15-points, all coming on five 3-point shots, and Liam Reagan, a junior forward, added 11.

Another key for NCOE was their ability to handle the basketball as they ended up with just six turnovers, zero in the second half, as opposed to 15 miscues by the Tigers.

“Norris City played better than us tonight. We were missing some kids tonight sick but that's no excuse,” said Coach Smith. “The last two minutes of the second quarter and the start of the third quarter hurt us. We have been notorious for starting slow in the third quarter this year. I told the boys that you can't get behind a team like Norris City because they're too good at shooting free throws if you're having to play catch up.”

The Fighting Cardinals were exceptional from the field, connecting on 19-of-35 overall field goal attempts, 5-of-15 from the arc.

Thompsonville ended up 15-of-39, 7-of-17 from long range.

Trailing 20-18 with 1:54 left in the first half, NCOE got going on its game-changing scoring run.

Simmons put in a shot on a drive to the basket and Garrett added a two free throws.

A transition score by Graves closed the half at 24-20 Cardinals.

Simmons and Russell scored on consecutive offensive trips before Reagan could answer for Thompsonville.

But two more drives to the basket for points coming from Garrett and Russell forced Coach Smith to burn a timeout at 32-22 NCOE with 5:29 left in the third quarter.

Then Sexton got hot from the beyond the arc, hitting his first shot from the top of the circle for a 36-23 lead.

He also got a nice assist from Garrett to nail down another 3-pointer from the right corner.

The trifecta of treys closed with a 20-footer from the right wing as NCOE led 42-30 heading to the fourth quarter.

Thompsonville cut the margin down to 47-41 with 2:14 left thanks to three 3-pointers of their own

Sandy hit two of the long range shots and sophomore Mason Marino hit the other.

The final shot by Sandy with 2:14 left was the final field goal for Thompsonville.

“There are some things we need to tighten up on defense. They (Thompsonville) were able to knock down some outside shots,” said Coach Johnson.

NCOE slammed the door shut from the foul line.

The Cardinals will face Crab Orchard on Friday night in the semifinals after the Trojans dispatched Carrier Mills-Stonefort in the other quarterfinal game on Tuesday.

“We have been in a couple of situations this year where it (free throw shooting) almost cost us but we were able to make the plays tonight,” said Coach Johnson. “We get to play in a semifinal game on Friday night and we're looking forward to it.”

CRAB ORCHARD 78, CARRIER MILLS-STONEFORT 61
The Trojans did what they had to do on Tuesday night as they rallied from an early first quarter deficit to advance past the Wildcats.

Coach Jon Brown's club, who are also battling illness, got 28-points from senior guard Cameron Clark and 19-points from senior Carter Watts in the victory to put Crab Orchard in the semifinals.

Freshman Fisher Watts added 10-points and senior Rylan Brotherton tossed in 11.

Carrier Mills-Stonefort was led by 24-points from Elijah Taylor and 19 from Logan Daughenbaugh.