By Marco Clark, exclusive to the Times
The NCHS Chiefs came up short Monday night in the final moments of their opening game against the Cowboys of Southwood. The Chiefs led the Cowboys early during the first half of the game 28-24. The second half would tell the tale.
The Cowboys closed the gap during the third quarter using a full court press causing the Chiefs to make uncharacteristic turnovers. Those turnovers resulted in the Cowboys scoring 5 unanswered points giving them a one point lead at the end of the third quarter 40-39. The fourth quarter spelled disaster for the Chiefs as they were unable to generate any type of offense during the first 3 minutes until NCHS Aydrion Brown stole a pass in the open court and finished with a dunk that reignited the home crowd.
That play helped breathe new life in the Chiefs, but the Cowboys regrouped after a timeout and continued to push the ball up the court penetrating the defense. This kept them in the lead until the final horn sounded giving the Cowboys the seven point win 53-46.
Leading scorers for NCHS were Calvin Carpenter, 15 points, and Aydrion Brown, 12.