Men's Basketball | 11/8/2021 9:41:00 AM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3

Neosho County started the Luke Mackay era off with a bang, going 3-0 with wins over the JV programs from Ottawa, Bethany and Friends in the first week of the season.

Last Tuesday - November 2nd - the Panthers scored 57 first-half points on their way to a 108-72 victory over Ottawa. Four players finished in double figures, led by freshman Zaakir Sawyer's 26 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Micah Jones added 23 points and seven rebounds. Fellow freshman Ezrah Vaigafa flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Lone sophomore starter Jerry Carraway finished with 15 points and seven assists.

Thursday saw NCCC put together a dominant defensive performance, holding Bethany to just 40 points and only 15 in the second half. The Panthers forced 24 turnovers and landed three players in double figures with Vaigafa's 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists leading the way. Jones also scored 11 and Sawyer added 10.

Saturday saw a record-setting performance by the Panthers offensively in a 119-58 victory over Friends. Neosho County made a school-record 21 3-point FG while their 52 attempts is also believed to be a school record. Six different players hit a 3 with Carraway (7-15) and Jones (7-10) leading the charge. Carraway finished with 25 points and Jones chipped in 21. Sawyer finished with 10 points and eight rebounds while Vaigafa recorded his second double-double of the week with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Neosho County's three wins match their win total from the entire 2020-21 campaign were the Panthers finished 3-21. The schedule will be increasingly more difficult moving forward as NCCC prepares for a five-game road stretch starting this weekend in Dodge City where the Panthers will matchup with two programs in or receiving votes at the D1 level in DCCC and Garden City.

Entering the second week of the season, NCCC leads the nation in 3-point FG attempts per game (42.3) and is third in 3-point FG made per game (14.3).