MIAMI, Oklahoma -- The Northern Oklahoma College Mavs and Lady Mavs swept NEO Thursday night in the Region 2 opener.
The 10th ranked Mavs (6-0) were 82-68 while the Lady Mavs (1-4) won 69-67.
Lady Mavs 69, NEO 67
Mia Brown scored 23 points including the game winning driving layup with :06 remaining in a 69-67 win at NEO in the Region 2 conference opener.
Brown also added 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals for the Mavs (1-4).
Coach Greg Krause said he liked the resiliency of the Lady Mavs.
“I thought we did a good defensively and attacking the basket on offense,” Krause said. “This team doesn’t back off when things get tough. I believe we’ll continue to improve.”
The Lady Mavs trailed 58-55 mid-fourth quarter when NOC went on a 7-0 run to take a 62-58 lead, Brown had six points during that run.
NEO tied the game at 62-62 and 64-64 when the Lady Mavs again took the lead.
Gavriel Myers made three free throws on two possession, in between the Lady Mavs made two huge defensive stops. NEO then tied the game with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 67-67 before Brown made her final drive to the basket scoring the game winner with :06 left.
Celeste Moore and Myers had nine points each for NOC. The Mavs finished the game at 78 percent from the foul line (25-32).
Mavs 82, NEO 68
The NOC Mavs opened conference play Thursday night with an 82-66 win over NEO in Miami.
The 10th ranked Mavs (6-0) were led by Tyrel Morgan with 19 points. Thursday’s win broke a six-game losing streak to the Norse.
“I’m really proud of the guys for finding a way to win at NEO,” said head coach Donnie Jackson. “The guys stuck to our game plan and executed it just like we asked them to. NEO is an extremely tough place to play. If you are going to go to Miami and win a game, you are going to have to earn it. They are a very well coached team.”
“After a slow start to the game, I called a timeout to get the guys settled down,” Jackson said. “Once we saw the ball go through the net, we started to play our game.”
“Our press really got to them in the second half. We got some key turnovers to gain some momentum,” Jackson added. “Tyrel (Morgan) did an excellent job in the middle of the zone and ...