Chris Patton (Victoria, Australia)Patton's 26 points help NCCC triumph over Johnson County

The Chanute Tribune
Briann McDowell - Sports Editor

OVERLAND PARK — NCCC men's basketball coach Jeremy Coombs classified his team's Wednesday night 81-70 road victory over the Johnson County Cavaliers as a game that represented everything that he wants his team to be about. The Panthers' guards weren't selfish, they got the ball inside to the team's big men, who finished around the basket. If the big men didn't have a shot, they kicked the ball out to the guards.

“This is playing,” Coombs said. “This is what this team is about, and if we do that, we'll be very successful. If we do the things we did against Allen County, the second half of the Coffeyville game or some of these other games, we're not a very good team.”

He liked Neosho County's defense.

“We knew the personnel for the other team,” Coombs said. “We knew who could shoot and who couldn't, and we just did a great job.”

From a personnel standpoint, the game was notable because D'Marco Smith (Topeka, KS) got a lot of playing time for the first time this season and offensive standout Brison White didn't play at all.

D'Marco Smith (Topeka, KS) ended up being the second-highest scorer on the team.

“He's a kid that can play,” Coombs said, “but we've expected more out of him the entire year.”

Coombs said players have to prove themselves in practice before he will put them in games. The coach said Smith had a really good week of practice.

“I kept telling him to keep working and his opportunities would come,” Coombs said, “and he stepped up to the plate and did a good job.”

According to Coombs, White didn't play because he had some disciplinary things going on. The coach classified these as “nothing serious at all.”

“We wanted to send him a little message and I think we did,” Coombs said. “We've got to get these players to buy in to what this team is about.”

The team played well without him, as Raymond Jeter (Columbia, SC) carried the Panthers in the close-knit early portion of the contest, quickly scoring three early baskets. The scoring stayed close in the early portion of the half, but Neosho County (11-10) started to establish a lead of up to nine points. Relying heavily on outside shooting, the Cavaliers fought their way back into the game. They fell just short of taking the reins though, as both Chris Patton (Victoria, Australia) and Smith drove their way to the basket to give the Panthers a six-point lead with five minutes left in the half. The score stayed at this gap until a three-pointer by Johnson County's Christian Hildebrant put the Cavaliers (12-12) within three, A quick lay-up by Hickert gave the Panthers a 42-37 lead at halftime.

Johnson County opened the second half with a 4-0 run. Hickert made two free throw shots that made it a three-point game. Neosho County then went on a run of its own that widened the gap to nine. This lead grew to 12 about halfway through the half and expanded to 14 on a lay-up by Raymond Jeter (Columbia, SC) with 6:50 left in the game. The lead expanded as Gregoryshon Magee (New Orleans, LA) had a late-game scoring spurt and Patton was sent to the line.

The Cavaliers did score on late-game free throws and a three-pointer, but couldn't chop away at NCCC's lead, and the Panthers earned the 11-point victory.

Coombs said that second-half play has been an “Achilles heel” for the team in many of its games, and is something he has been focusing on.

Coombs would have liked to have seen the Panthers rebound a little better in the match-up, saying that the team let some get away from them in the first half.

Chris Patton (Victoria, Australia), a 6-10 Australian who Coombs declared “the best big man in the conference,” led the Panthers in scoring with 26 points and nine rebounds

“We've got to just keep feeding him,” Coombs said. “He's one of those guys that can lead us, and the guys have to understand that. They've got to keep going to him. That's a high percentage shot.

“We've got to get that ball in to him. He's going to make everyone else around him better, as long as we keep going in to him. He makes the guards better by finding them in open spots and giving them easy shots.”

Coombs noted that most defenses lately have chosen to double-team or even triple-team Chris Patton (Victoria, Australia), which increases the offensive options.

D'Marco Smith (Topeka, KS) scored 13 points and Raymond Jeter (Columbia, SC) had 12.

NCCC will next host Kansas City, Kansas (17-7) on Saturday at 8 p.m. Coombs said they're a good team, although he didn't think they were as good as the ranking the first time they played this season, a game which the Panthers lost 81-72.

“They're still a really good team,” Coombs said. “They're going through some struggles, but they still have all their players. They're talented. They've got an inside game and an outside game. They've got a really good point guard. They're going to come at us. They're going to play us hard. We've got to do the same thing we did in this game; play as a team and we'll come out on top.”

NCCC 42 39 - 81
JCCC 37 33 - 70