ND boys fall to state champ Indianola in district

By Will Dickins
North Delta hosted the defending state å Tuesday night in basketball action against Indianola.  Indianola came away with the victory 49-31.
The game started off slowly as both teams acclimated to each of their respective zone defenses.  It was close throughout the first quarter, but the second quarter was a different story.  Indianola began to find space in the zone which led to them scoring 21 points in the second quarter.  From threes to dunks, they took control.
Avery Rowland put together four threes to lead the Green Wave offensively.  Alex Greenlee helped with seven points as Luke Lewis added five points of his own.  In the end, it was just the Colonels’ night with everything going in.  At one point, they made three straight threes on three consecutive trips down the court.
North Delta never gave up and continued to play their game.  The consistent effort showed as they were able to put up 31 points.  On a night that seemed bad, the game came down to one anomaly.  That was the second quarter.  North Delta was outscored 20-5.  This is where the game was won and lost.  Unfortunately, North Delta was the one on the losing end. If the second quarter goes in favor of North Delta, we are looking at a different game. Every play counts.
Rowland ended the night with 12 points, two rebounds, two steals, and one assist.  Other scorers included: Greenlee, seven points and four rebounds; Lewis, five points, one rebound, and two assists; Chris Burchfield, four points, three rebounds, and one steal; Joseph Cox, two points, four rebounds, and one steal; and Nelson Howell, one point and four rebounds.
Indianola JH boys 46, NDJH 32
Earlier in the night, the Junior High Boys team beat Indianola 46-32.  North Delta stretched out to an early ten-point lead in the first half. Walt Miller and Collin Hartman put together 14 points to carry the load in the first quarter before Drake Barton and Jordan Cox joined in on the action in the second quarter.
Miller continued to find open spaces in the Indianola defense.  Hartman hit a barrage of threes from the corner.  Barton cleaned up the glass and found room in the paint.  Overall, the Green Wave were clicking on all cylinders offensively. The first half’s score was 24-14 North Delta.  Much of the same happened in the second half with a slower pace.
Everything seemed to work, and North Delta raced out to a lead that began to build throughout the game.  The offense was working to go along with the steady 2-3 zone that makes the opposing offense really work for their scoring.  Put those two together and the result is a 46-32 dominating performance against a worthy opponent in Indianola.
Leading the Green Wave in scoring was Walt Miller with 13 points.  Right behind him were Hartman with 12 and Barton with 10.  Other scorers included: Layton Wells (4), Ryan Gibson (3), Jordan Cox (2), and Martin Wolfe (2).
North Delta returns to district action against St. Joseph Tuesday at home beginning at 3:30 p.m.