WAHPETON, ND – The Northeast Community College men’s basketball team went for 1-1 to open the season over the weekend at the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) Classic here.
The Hawks faced nationally ranked Williston State College in the season opener in an overtime thriller. The Tetons started with an 18-4 run. Sophomore guard Trevon Moody came off the bench for Northeast, hitting two three point shots to ignite the Hawks. The Hawks fought back to take the lead 25-24 with Williston State with just a two-point lead at the half, 39-37.
Northeast started the second half with two big baskets by sophomore guard Kevin Metoyer. After going up, 53-46, four costly turnovers let the lead slip away as Williston State tied the game at 64. With 32 seconds left, The Tetons went up by two and ran down the clock when Kevin Metoyer was fouled driving to the basket. Metoyer made both free-throws to send the game into overtime at 75-75.
In overtime, the Hawks and Tetons traded baskets, until Williston State went up 84-83 with 10 seconds remaining. The Hawks had a late look to win the game, but couldn’t convert, dropping the contest by the one point margin.
“The fans got their money’s worth. Both teams fought hard, but costly turnovers and missed free-throws were the deciding factor from the Hawks getting the win,” said Dan Anderson, Hawks coach.
Metoyer led Northeast with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while freshman Vance Johnson came off the bench with 11 points; Moody ended with 11 points and four rebounds; and Milan Skundric contributed ten points and grabbed six rebounds.
In the second game of the tournament, the Hawks defeated the host team, NDSCS, 81-76.
Anderson said “key stops and crucial buckets helped us get the win. Anytime you can go on the road and come away victory is huge.”
Several freshmen stepped up in the win, including Marty Hill with 19 points, Skundric had 15, Jalen Mobley scored seven, and Mathew Wingett finished with four points, but took two charges and had two steals.
“We had a lot of players step up this weekend,” Anderson said. We had eleven players rotate in and play crucial minutes. With our small group of sophomores and big group of freshman, we hope to create havoc for a lot teams. It was good to get our first win under our belts now we hope to continue this success start rattling some more wins off.”
Northeast will host the Hawks Classic on Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7, at the Cox Activities Center on the Northeast Campus in Norfolk. The Hawks will face Iowa lakes Community College at 8 p.m. on Friday, and then take on Iowa Central Community College on Saturday, at 6 p.m.
The Northeast women opened the season with two wins at the NDSCS Classic. In the first game, Northeast defeated Willison State College, 96-77. In the second game of the tournament, the Hawks defeated North Dakota State College of Science, 82-65.
The Northeast women will host Cloud County Community College on Tuesday, in the Cox Activities Center at 6 p.m.