After opening the game with a 21-0 run against the visiting Graceland University JV, Pirates basketball cruised to a 115-65 victory on opening night in the Ketcham Community Center. NCMC's next action will be a pair of games in the Orscheln Classic on Friday and Saturday in Moberly, MO. The Pirates take on United Prep on Friday before a Saturday matchup with NJCAA DI perennial contender and host Moberly Area CC. The Greyhounds are ranked 15th in the NJCAA DI preseason poll.
NCMC featured a balanced scoring attack in the win on Wednesday. Six Pirates reached double figures and were led by returning sophomore Sterling DeSha's 20 points. Fellow returner Gerald Gittens totaled 18 points and freshman starter Carlton Thomas netted 17 points. Off the bench, Nelson Reynolds scored 15 points in his NCMC debut. As a team, the Pirates shot a hot 50% from the field but only 51.6% from the charity stripe, a number Coach Esry would surely like to see improve as the season moves forward. NCMC did a great job of taking care of the ball (only 8 turnovers) and taking it away from the Yellowjackets (29 turnovers) in the game.
