NMCC survives Kennett scare

KENNETT -- As Willie Jimerson goes, so goes New Madrid County Central.

That's been the Eagles' theme this season.

But one of the questions for the Eagles is who steps up when Jimerson isn't scoring in bunches?

On Tuesday, NMCC got its answer as senior guard Armondo Thatch scored a season-high 22 points in leading his team to a thrilling 79-77 road victory over Kennett.

Jimerson certainly wasn't a slouch, as the sophomore scored 15 points, but it is well below his average of 24 per game and he was limited to nine points in the first three quarters.

So the Eagles needed all the scoring they could get from Thatch, who entered the game averaging just under seven points per game.

"Armondo's starting to get better and we need him," NMCC coach Travis Day said. "We're going to need him towards the end here to help with scoring. Willie didn't have one of his better games, but we know everybody is going to step up on him."

With Kennett celebrating its Senior Night with a packed house on hand, NMCC silenced the home crowd with a 12-0 run two minutes into the game.

"This is a tough place to play. I don't care how good or bad they are, they play well at home," Day said. "For us to come out like we did and get the good start on them, that was a bonus for us."

With it being Senior Night, Kennett head coach Jim Vaughan elected to start an all-senior lineup for the first time this season.

The move backfired.

NMCC had taken a 7-0 lead just 32 seconds into the game when Vaughan quickly tried to sub in his regular starters, but the damage was already done.

"The first I told them was 'the first three minutes of the game is on me,'" Vaughan said. "We started our five seniors and I'm not discrediting them, but when we do that we put people in positions that haven't played at this season. That got us off to a shaky start. Maybe if we start with a regular lineup we don't get down like that early."

It still took the Indians time to adjust, but they finally got on the board on a Kevonte Mitchell free throw with 5:18 left in the first quarter.

Thatch answered with his second 3-pointer of the period to lead 15-1. The Eagles led by as much as 17-3 in the quarter. They eventually held a 21-9 lead after one.

"He made shots early," Vaughan said of Thatch. "He had two 3's in the first half. Willie has been their guy throughout the year, but Thatch has done a good job of playing off of him and he did that early tonight."

NMCC continued to extend the lead in the second quarter, holding a 30-15 advantage on a Delontre Haney basket to mark the Eagles' largest lead of the night.

But Kennett slowly and methodically began to chip away at the lead. The Indians went on a 16-5 run and got as close as 36-31 on Mitchell's one-handed slam on a fast-break to ignite the home crowd, but just seconds later, NMCC broke through the Kennett press and found Haney for a two-handed flush to once again quiet the home crowd.

After a Mikeal Walker basket extended the NMCC lead to nine, Kennett's Cameron Harper scored on an offensive putback just before the halftime buzzer to cut the lead to 40-33.

"Even with a 12-0 start, you knew they were going to come back. They're just too talented not to," Day said.

The Eagles maintained the lead through the third quarter, but the Indians closed the period on another run. Trailing 59-54, Mitchell finished with another one-handed dunk and 6-foot-4 senior Divante Taylor knocked in a baseline jump-hook with 28 seconds left to cut the lead to 59-58 at the end of three.

The fourth quarter was tight.

Kennett still only trailed 65-64 on an inside basket by Antonio Primer with six minutes left, but the Eagles responded with a 7-0 run, which started when Kennett's Harper slammed the ball on the court resulting in a technical foul being called.

Jimerson sank both technical free throws and Thatch scored on the ensuing possession to extend the lead to 69-64. Walker followed up with a crucial 3-pointer from the corner on a drive and kick-out by Jimerson to push the lead to 72-64 with 4:50 left in the game.

The Indians never could recover as NMCC maintained at least a five-point lead until the final seconds.

NMCC's Asten Newsom scored a basket to put the Eagles ahead 79-72 with 20 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Mitchell hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to cut the lead to 79-75.

Two seconds later, Jimerson was immedately fouled, but uncharacteristically, the 80-percent free throw shooter missed both attempts. Still trailing by four, the Indians got two 3-point attempts from Harold Weeden and Mitchell, but both were off the mark. Primer secured the offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer to reach the final margin.

"The thing that I liked is that we never relinquished the lead," Day said. "Kennett's too good and you know they're going to make a run sooner or later. A lot of that was our silly mistakes, but at the same time we lost our composure but we didn't collapse, and that's what you want to see at this time of the year. We didn't let our mistakes just destroy us."

In addition to Thatch's big game, NMCC got a strong performance from the sophomore Newsom, who was aggressive on the offensive end, scoring 11 points.

"He was the one that was able to finish inside for us," Day said. "This is a game, as a coach, you want to see who can battle back through adversity. I thought we did that."

The Eagles had to contend with Mitchell, who pumped in a game-high 30 points for the Indians, with 17 coming in the second half. Primer followed up with 20 points.

"He can just score," Day said of Mitchell. "The kid can shoot the 3. He can make moves to the basket. You just try not to let everybody else step up and hurt you."

The Eagles have caught fire, winning seven straight games and nine of its last 10.

"I think we're playing good ball at the right time," Day said. "We've got a tough stretch here. Two more games this week and three next week so it will let us see where we're at toughness-wise. Districts is around the corner, so everything counts right now."

NMCC plays at Puxico tomorrow. They will return home on Friday to host Jackson in a SEMO Conference matchup.

Junior varsity

NMCC's J.V. team defeated Kennett 57-39. The Eagles were led by Kiel Causey's 16 points.

NMCC (79) -- Armondo Thatch 22, Willie Jimerson 15, Asten Newsom 11, Delontre Haney 10, Jashawn McDaniel 8, Mikeal Walker 7, Darrin McGloson 4, Devon Harrell 2. FG 29, FT 9-18, F 22. (3-pointers: Thatch 2, Jimerson 1, Walker 1. Fouled out: none).

KENNETT (77) -- Kevonte Mitchell 30, Antonio Primer 20, Harold Weeden 10, Rantrell Caruthers 5, Akeem Nelson 4, Cameron Harper 4, Divante Taylor 4. FG 25, FT 12-25, F 18. (3-pointers: Mitchell 3, Weeden 1, Caruthers 1. Fouled out: none).