Green Wave lose thriller in OT

By Brad Greer
Not a whole lot has gone right for the North Delta boys basketball team this season.
After starting the year 5-2, the Green Wave has lost 12 of its last 13 games but were looking to gain some momentum heading into next week’s district tournament with a win over Kirk on ‘Senior Night’ Monday night at home.
But as fate would have it, victory was pulled from their grasp as Kirk rallied from 10 points down to take a thrilling 63-61 overtime win.
North Delta (6-15; 0-8) led 55-52 with four seconds left in regulation before Blake Woods drained a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game overtime.
The Green Wave surged ahead 59-55 in the extra session on consecutive baskets by Walt Miller, who led his team with 21 points. Kirk then took a 60-59 lead on Austin Bransome’s trey with under a minute left to play.
After a Chris Burchfield jumper gave North Delta its last lead at 61-60, Justin McElory sank two free throws with 30 seconds remaining to give the visitors a 62-61 advantage.
With the game coming down to the final possession, McElory came up with the biggest play of the night by stealing the ball away at mid-court with seven seconds left on the clock before being fouled on the play.
The senior then hit the back end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity to give Kirk a 63-61 lead. Following a time out, North Delta had one last gasp at victory but a desperation heave at the buzzer fell off the mark.
The Green Wave hurt themselves at the free throw line in the overtime period as they missed eight shots from the stripe, including a pair of technical fouls that could have added to their four-point cushion at the time.
North Delta dominated most of the first half of play, leading by as many as 14 points with 1:07 remaining before intermission. Kirk went on a mini 5-0 run to trail 35-26 at halftime.
Burchfield followed Miller in the scoring column with 11 points. Cole Devazier added nine while Colin Hartman and Alex Greenlee finished with five each. Miles Garner supplied four with Ben Rowsey and Ryan Gibson both garnering with two points.
Kirk (girls)- 57
North Delta-31
The Raideretts showed why they are one of the top academy teams in the state by easing past an out-matched #3 North Delta squad.
Kirk (26-1; 8-0) has now won 24 games in a row dating back to a 50-41 loss at the hands of #2 ranked Leake on Nov. 7 North Delta fell to 20-4 and 6-2 in district play.
The Raideretts led 14-7 after one quarter before extending their cushion to 29-15 at break.
Ally Alford led North Delta with a hard earned 13 points while Payton Scott contributed with seven. Other scorers include, Maci Kirkland, four; Mary Emily Morris, three; Faith and Hannah Bollinger, two each. Senior Hanna Stoddard got her first varsity start.
North Delta closes out the regular season Monday at home against Strayhorn with two varsity games beginning at 6 p.m.
Kirk (JH)boys-49 ND-45
Despite the narrow loss, the Green Wave wrapped up the #1 seed in the Junior High tournament at Kirk that is in progress at press time.
North Delta received a first round bye and played the Lee/Bayou winner last night. A victory put the Green Wave into the championship game Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Drake Barton tallied 15 points in a losing effort followed ny Ryan Gibson with 10 points. Grayson Alford added seven while Carter Rinehart garnered six. Layton Wells finished with five and Blaine Sanders rounded out the scoring with two points.
North Delta (JH) girls-34 Kirk-14
Just as their counterparts, the junior high Lady Wave secured the top seed in the tournament with an easy win over Kirk.
North Delta took on the Kirk/Indianola winner Thursday with the winner advancing to the title game Saturday at 1 p.m.
Ellie Gray led North Delta with 10 points followed by Sophie Williams and Eliza Morris with four points each. Shelby Grace Boone and Sydney Talley added three each while Jaden Brooks, Griffin Rico and Ally Alford finished with two points each.