NACI mounts epic comeback
- Details
- Published on Monday, January 18, 2016
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner
The Neepawa Tigers earned a thrilling last second victory over the MacGregor Mustangs on Thursday, Jan. 14, in Zone Seven varsity boys basketball action.
The opening quarter featured a pair of evenly matched teams exchanging quality opportunities. After the first 10 minutes, that back and forth effort led to a 14-13 lead for NACI.
In the second quarter, the Tigers started well, scoring the first four points, but then found its shooting prowess turn ice cold. MacGregor meanwhile, found its groove and scored the next 12 points of the quarter to completely take over the momentum of the game. At the half, the Mustangs held on to a 35-26 lead.
In the third, it still seemed as if the basketball was magnetically repelled from the basket whenever Neepawa took a shot with it. Several normally guaranteed buckets seemed to take strange bounces and stayed out of the basket for the Tigers. MacGregor however, continued to accumulate points and run the clock down. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Mustangs appeared to have a solid 51-38 lead. Appearances however, can be deceiving.
NACI started to chip away at the lead, making smart passes, corralling rebounds and taking high percentage shots that secured points for the home side. With 1:07 remaining, MacGregor was holding on to a 57-54 lead, but found themselves in foul trouble. Neepawa took advantage by scoring on several free throw chances. The winning basket dropped for the Tigers in the final 12 seconds, to give the home side its first lead since early in the second quarter. MacGregor had a last second chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, but was unable to sink the basket. Neepawa stormed off the court with a well-deserved and dramatic win.
As for the girls varsity game between Neepawa and MacGregor, that matchup was a little less dramatic than the boys’ as the Tigers strolled to an 81-12 win. NACI had things well in hand within the first five minutes, as they scored the first 19 points of the game. After the first quarter, Neepawa had a 34-2 lead and cruised to the easy win.
Both varsity teams return to the hardwood on Wednesday, Jan. 20 against Carberry.
