Box Score OTTUMWA, Iowa — Although moral victories aren't counted in athletics, the No. 30 ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Golden Norsemen held the No. 17 rated Indian Hills Warriors under the 100-point standard for the first time is season.
But the end result was a 69-67 loss for the Golden Norse Saturday in the final game of the Reed Overhead Doors Classic host by Indian Hills Community College.
Wednesday's regularly scheduled Golden Norseman game with the University of Ozarks JV has been cancelled.
The Warriors had been on a terror by eclipsing 100 points in three of their first four games on the young season.
Nearly three minutes past before NEO's Justin Ford scored the game's first points. Jermaine Ukaegbu came up with the first points for the Warriors after three and a half scoreless minutes.
Ford continued to provide the pop for the Norsemen, scoring seven early points including a 3-pointer that helped put NEO ahead by four at a 10-6 margin.
Brady Ernst was the Warrior team leader in points at the break with nine points, as the Warriors were held to their lowest first-half point total so far this season.
NEO's Ford was leading all scorers with 11 points, as halftime arrived with Indian Hills leading the Norsemen by a 38-29 advantage.
As the second half began, the Warriors were plagued with the same problems as in the first half. IHCC had troubles stringing drives together, and when something looked promising, a referee's whistle halted the momentum.
NEO scored the first five points of the half, and it took more than three minutes for the Warriors to get their first points.
The first bucket of the night for Chris McNeal, and a 3-point conversion by Ivan Aurrecoechea, gave the Warriors five quick points to push their lead back out to nine.
NEO answered with a 3-pointer by Dante Jefferson and a basket by Pedro Lopes to draw back within 43-39 deficit with 14:38 remaining in the game.
The Norsemen refused to let the Warriors gain too much of an advantage. Ford continued his hot shooting from beyond the arc, and big man Lopes started to heat up, which drew NEO within two of IHCC.
Indian Hills' forward Jamel Allen was hit with a technical foul following a personal foul. The tech foul resulted in Allen's fifth foul, which disqualified him from the contest.
Indian Hills was able to keep the Norsemen at bay, but a three-point play by Ford drew NEO to within a 52-51 deficit.
With 6:00 minutes left in the contest, the Warriors held a slim 55-53 lead, and a couple of clutch foul shots by Aurrecoechea pushed the lead back out to four. However, another bucket by Ford, and three straight free throws by Curhone Baldwin put the Norsemen ahead.
The Warrior offense exploded, with Karl Harris dropping in a trey to put IHCC back in front. Williams and Ernst each sank a field goal to extend the lead to 64-58 with 2:56 remaining.
Indian Hills got in foul trouble again, when two tough calls gave NEO four easy points to cut the lead to two.
Harris drained another 3-pointer from the corner to extend the lead to 67-62 with 1:32 remaining, but a goaltending call on the other end pulled the Norsemen back within three.
NEO fought hard right to the final buzzer, but the Warriors did just enough to pick up their fifth win of the season.
Ford led the Golden Norse attack with a game-high 25 points. Curhone Baldwin followed with 14 points, Jefferson tallied 12 points, and Lopes added 10 points for NEO.
Williams and Ernst led the Warriors with 13 points each respectively. Harris finished with 12 points. Richardson Maitre and Ivan Aurrecoechea each scored six points. Kenny Wormley, Jermaine Ukaegbu, Tyonne Malone and Jamel Allen each had four points. Chris McNeal tallied two points, and Tre Hansbrough added one point.