ARKANSAS CITY, Kansas – Sophomore Avante Lederer scored 23 points including 14 points in a key second half stretch to lead the #13 NOC Mavericks past #24 Cowley 101-91 Saturday night in Arkansas City.
Trailing 64-63 with 12:00 remaining, the Mavs (2-0) went on a 19-7 run with Lederer scoring 14 during that stretch. Cowley (0-2) would never get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Coach Donnie Jackson was ecstatic with the win, the second over the Tigers in four days.
"That was a very big road win for us, it's very hard to go to Cowley and win," he said. "I thought it was especially challenging playing them twice in four days. They were ready to play, it was a physical contest. Credit to our guys for matching their intensity and physicality."
While the Mavs led 44-37 at half, Jackson wasn't pleased with the first half.
"We only made one 3-pointer in the first 20 minutes," he added. "Avante (Lederer) stepped up big for us during that key stretch in the second half when he hit 3-3-pointers in a row. That gave us a big boost of confidence."
Four other Mavs reached double figures with JD Ray adding 17, Tyrel Morgan 15, Nate Goodlow 14, and Camryn Dennis 11. Morgan led the Mavs with 11 rebounds.
NOC shot just 40 percent from the field but connected on 80 percent (35-44) from the foul line.
The Mavs host Ft. Scott Tuesday at 4 p.m.
"We have a day off before we prepare for Ft. Scott on Tuesday," he said. "We have three games left in our non-conference schedule before we start region play. We need to take advantage of the limited time we have to get better and clean up some things we need to work on."
NOC 101, Cowley 91
1 2—Total
NOC 44 57—101
Cowley 37 54 – 91
NOC—A. Lederer 23, J. Ray 17, T. Morgan 15, N. Goodlow 14, C. Dennis 11, S. Grisby 7, M. Berry 6, J. Wilson 4, K. Sesberry 2, D. McLean 2.