SportsMarch 13, 2023
Bring it back: NMCC wins state title with a 56-46 victory over Lutheran North
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Legendary coach Lennis McFerren earned a 10th state championship and brought back that distinction to New Madrid County Central for the first time in more than two decades with a win in the Class 3 title game at the 2023 Show-Me Showdown on Saturday, March 11...
By Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Legendary coach Lennis McFerren earned a 10th state championship and brought back that distinction to New Madrid County Central for the first time in more than two decades with a win in the Class 3 title game at the 2023 Show-Me Showdown on Saturday, March 11.
Jadis Jones led the Eagles (24-7) with a game-high in points (20) and rebounds (7) in a 56-46 win over Lutheran North (20-11) at the Great Northern Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri.
“These are some great young men to coach,” McFerren said. “They all love to play the game. I’ve said it before, good players make great coaches, and these guys are all some of the best players you could ever want. To tell the truth, I didn’t realize it had been that long, time flies.”
Bryce Spiller hit a midrange jumper to start the game and give the Crusaders their only lead of the game.
Jones quickly answered with a strong take off an assist from BJ Williamson. On the next possession, Jones split a double team and posterized a third defender while being fouled with an arena-erupting slam dunk.
“The monster dunk set the tone for the rest of the game,” said NMCC assistant coach Dontre Jenkins. “It was a statement by [Jones].”
Jones converted at the free throw line and gave the Eagles a 5-2 advantage.
“Every game, either [Jones and Williamson] always brings that spark,” said NMCC senior guard AJ Ruff. “We were able to pick up the energy after that.”
Kayden Minner knocked down a 3-pointer to put NMCC up by seven points but Lutheran North finished the opening quarter with a pair of buckets by Izy Prude and Ike Prude to narrow the lead to 12-9.
The Eagles started the second quarter with a layup by Williamson off an assist from Newsom, and back-to-back post scores from Jones to push the lead to 18-9.
“Our guys were locked in,” said NMCC assistant coach Dontre Jenkins. “Friday night I did room checks at 10 p.m. and most of the guys were already in bed asleep. Saturday headed to the gym from the hotel, I could just tell everyone was locked in and ready to compete.”
Williamson swiped a steal and quickly finished at the other end to push the lead to double digits for the first time with a few minutes remaining until halftime, and Jones slammed home another jam in the final minute after a takeaway to make it 26-13 at halftime.
“This one is special because it was with these players,” McFerren said. “They believed in winning and hated to lose. They respect the stuff from the past, but they don’t care about all that stuff. They want to win now and feel the way they feel today.”
The Crusaders fought back into the game in the second half and made things interesting down the stretch. Lutheran North narrowed the score to 34-28 at the end of the third quarter after Spiller scored eight of 20 points and the Crusaders outscored the Eagles 15-8, including 12-0 on second-chance points.
“We knew we had to control the game,” Jones said. “We were able to get out to a decent lead but we knew we couldn’t come out of halftime and play like the game of over. There was too much on the line. We had to continue taking what we could get on offense and playing great defense.”
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Jameer Cretter had a good take to start the fourth quarter and narrow the lead to 34-30, but Ruff responded with a big shot to push the lead back to six points.
Lutheran North made several plays to create some late-game drama and get within striking distance, but NMCC calmly stuck to its game plan and came through with critical plays.
Izy Prude made a baseline jumper to get Lutheran North within a single possession for the first time since the first quarter, but Jones answered on the other end with a finish through contact with about five minutes left in the game.
“[Jones] performed the way he’s been performing all year long for us,” Jenkins said. “He showed the state and everyone else that was there or watching the game why he’s one of the best players in his class. He’s also doing this with every team game planning and focusing on stopping him.
“We’ve had some great players come through NMCC,” Jenkins continued. “But I would say [Jones] has definitely made his way towards the top of the list and he still has another year.”
Izy Prude knocked down a 3-pointer a short time later to narrow it to 39-37, but Newsom came through with his biggest moment of the game, a 3-point play to make it 4:41 left.
The Eagles led just 45-39 until Newsom finished through contact and converted at the free-throw line again. This time pushing the lead to 48-39 with 1:54 remaining.
“Everyone knows [Jones] and [Williamson] but we don’t win this state championship without Ruff, Minner, and Newson,” said Jenkins. “Ruff and Minner's ability to play pressure defense and make plays when their number is called. Newson is our senior that doesn’t get enough credit for what he has done this season. He doesn’t score 20 points a game but he plays great post-defense and rebounds the ball for us. He’s had some big games for us this year.”
Williamson and Jones each buried clutch free throws in the final minute to secure the chip.
The Eagles shot 63 percent from the field while holding the Crusaders to 37 percent. Lutheran North did win the rebounding battle 27-22 but NMCC made up for that with advantages in points in the paint (34-14), points off of turnovers (17-11) and fast break points (8-0).
It was the Eagles’ fourth state championship in program history and the first since 2001.
“It means the world,” Jenkins said. “Most of these guys have been playing ball together since they were little kids and the bond they have with one another is amazing. These guys have put in so much work over the years to be able to call themselves champions, that’s something no one will be able to take away from them. I’m truly honored to be able to call myself their coach.”
Some of NMCC’s other top performers were Williamson with 18 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists; Newsom with 11 points, two rebounds and a block; Minner with five points, two assists, a steal and a rebound; and Ruff with two points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
__NMCC 56, LUTHERAN NORTH 46__
Lutheran North 9 4 15 18 — 46
NMCC 12 14 8 22 — 56
__Lutheran North (46) —__ Bryce Spiller 7-17 1-2 20, Izy Prude 5-13 0-0 11, Davell Long 3-8 0-1 6, Ike Prude 2-3 0-0 4, Berry Benson 1-3 0-0 3, Jameer Cretter 1-4 0-0 2. FG: 19-52. FT: 1-3. F: 21. (3-pointers: Spiller 5-9, Benson 1-2, Izy Prude 1-6. Fouled out: Cretter, Spiller.)
__NMCC (56) —__ Jadis Jones 7-10 6-12 20, BJ Williamson 6-10 6-9 18, Brayden Newsom 4-6 3-4 11, Kayden Minner 1-1 2-2 5, AJ Ruff 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 19-30. FT: 17-27. F: 9. (3-pointers: Minner 1-1. Fouled out: none.)
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