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NMCC rallies past Notre Dame in rare home game
NEW MADRID -- New Madrid County Central played its first home game since Nov. 30 on Tuesday night. The Eagles put on a show for their hometown fans, posting an impressive 50-42 win over Notre Dame.
"This was a big win, especially coming off the loss to Cape Central," said NMCC head coach David Fields. "We were pretty down after that. This is a tremendous win. Notre Dame is tough for a lot of people."
NMCC struggled in the early stages of the game, falling behind 15-6.
"That has been our M.O. all year," said Fields. "We have typically played horrible in the first half and pretty good in the second half. We've been doing that all year."
The Eagles trailed 39-28 heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored the Bulldogs 22-3 in the final frame to pull out the win.
"We turned up our defense a little bit, but (Notre Dame) got a little complacent," said Fields. "It looked like they were just trying to hang on. We made a run at them, and things just snowballed from there."
NMCC took the lead with 1:40 left in regulation and extended the lead to eight points by the final buzzer.
"The thing that I'm pleased with is that we made a lot of mental mistakes, and still won the ballgame," said Fields. "That tells me we're getting better."
Mack Kimble led the Eagles with 15 points. Vaughn Shepherd added 10.
"Maybe tonight we got over the hump," said Fields. "We did for one game anyway."
For Notre Dame, Wayne Essner led the way with 12 points, followed by Cory Beussink with 11.
NMCC will be back in action next Tuesday, traveling to Kennett.
"That's a big game for us," said Fields. "We beat them in the Sikeston Tournament, but a lot of things have changed. It's going to be a dogfight down there."