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NCA Jets Run Out Of Miracles; Fall In Quarterfinal
 MARQUETTE---They had been living on the edge for most of this tournament run. But the end finally came for the North Central High School basketball team Tuesday night as the Jets lost a heart-pounding 81-79 decision to the Cedarville Trojans in the Class D state quarterfinal game at Marquette High School. North Central had pulled out overtime thrillers over Munising and Forest Park in the regional tournament, and before that, had survived a tough battle against Carney-Nadeau to win the district championship. And everyone knew that Tuesday's quarterfinal game would be another war. And it turned out to be one, although it looked early that the Trojans were going to run away with the win, racing to a 30-15 lead late in the first quarter. But the Jets were able to get back into the game, closing the deficit to five at halftime, 46-41. The Jets also won the third quarter (23-16) and carried a 64-62 lead into the fourth quarter. And the game went back and forth from there, all the way to the final seconds. With Cedarville leading, 81-79, NCA freshman Jason Whitens had his shot blocked, but got his own rebound. He nailed the putback and was fouled at the buzzer, seemingly tying the game with the potential to win on a foul shot. But the official determined that the foul had happened before the shot, and so with no time on the clock, Whitens stepped to the line. Whitens needed to make both foul shots to force overtime, but he missed. As he walked off the court heartbroken, Cedarville celebrated a trip to the state's Class D Final Four. It was a bit of role-reversal from 2013, when the Trojans were undefeated and lost to the Jets in a quarterfinal upset. This time, NCA was undefeated, and felt the pain of the season ending just short of the goal: a return trip to MSU's Breslin Center. Cedarville (23-2) had two main scorers. Dan Stenbeck scored 34 points, including 25 in the first half. And Joey Duncan matched that with an astounding 34 points of his own. North Central (25-1) got 23 points from senior Travis Vincent. Whitens scored 20. Cedarville will face Adrian Lenawee Christian in the state semifinals Thursday night at the Breslin Center. Game time is 7:50 ET. You can hear the game live in Delta County on WCHT-AM (600), and at www.rrnsports.com. |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
12/9 |
8:00 PM |
at Stephenson Eagles
|
94 - 47 (W)
|
1-0
|
12/12 |
7:30 PM |
at Rapid River Rockets
|
79 - 34 (W)
|
2-0
|
12/16 |
7:00 PM |
Republic-Michigamme Hawks
|
78 - 25 (W)
|
3-0
|
12/19 |
8:00 PM |
Carney-Nadeau Wolves
|
93 - 56 (W)
|
4-0
|
12/28 |
7:00 PM |
Stephenson Eagles
|
70 - 28 (W)
|
5-0
|
1/11 |
3:00 PM |
at Superior Central Cougars
|
87 - 55 (W)
|
6-0
|
1/13 |
8:00 PM |
Rapid River Rockets
|
64 - 39 (W)
|
7-0
|
1/16 |
8:00 PM |
Big Bay deNoc Black Bears
|
68 - 53 (W)
|
8-0
|
1/18 |
3:00 PM |
at North Dickinson Nordics
|
59 - 45 (W)
|
9-0
|
1/21 |
7:30 PM |
at Mid Peninsula Wolverines
|
89 - 56 (W)
|
10-0
|
1/24 |
7:45 PM |
at Bark River-Harris Broncos
|
84 - 41 (W)
|
11-0
|
1/31 |
8:00 PM |
Forest Park Trojans
|
63 - 50 (W)
|
12-0
|
2/4 |
7:00 PM |
at Republic-Michigamme Hawks
|
53 - 28 (W)
|
13-0
|
2/5 |
8:00 PM |
at Carney-Nadeau Wolves
|
71 - 70 (W)
|
14-0
|
2/7 |
7:30 PM |
at Big Bay deNoc Black Bears
|
86 - 63 (W)
|
15-0
|
2/11 |
8:00 PM |
North Dickinson Nordics
|
74 - 42 (W)
|
16-0
|
2/17 |
8:00 PM |
Munising Mustangs
|
45 - 41 (W)
|
17-0
|
2/21 |
8:00 PM |
Bark River-Harris Broncos
|
80 - 50 (W)
|
18-0
|
2/25 |
8:00 PM |
at Forest Park Trojans
|
76 - 64 (W)
|
19-0
|
2/27 |
8:00 PM |
Mid Peninsula Wolverines
|
91 - 58 (W)
|
20-0
|
3/3 |
7:00 PM |
at Mid Peninsula Wolverines
|
69 - 48 (W)
|
21-0
|
3/5 |
7:00 PM |
North Dickinson Nordics
|
74 - 63 (W)
|
22-0
|
3/7 |
7:00 PM |
at Carney-Nadeau Wolves
|
65 - 57 (W)
|
23-0
|
3/10 |
7:45 PM |
Munising Mustangs
|
54 - 46 (W)
|
24-0
|
3/12 |
7:00 PM |
Forest Park Trojans
|
58 - 55 (W)
|
25-0
|
3/18 |
7:00 PM |
Cedarville Trojans
|
79 - 81 (L)
|
25-1
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