TONKAWA -- The Northern Oklahoma College Mavericks and Lady Mavs opened the 2021 season Wednesday night splitting two games against Cowley College at Foster-Piper Fieldhouse.

The No. 13 rankedMavs (1-0) beatNo. 24 Cowley 110- 96 while the Lady Mavs (0-1) lost to the Cowley women 89-66.

Mavs 110, Cowley 96

In an early season matchup between Top 25 teams, the NOC Mavericks raced out to a big early lead and outlasted Cowley College 110-96. “For the first game of the year and the limited practices we have had, I was extremely pleased with our energy level to start the game,” said NOC head coach Donnie Jackson.

“Cowley plays a unique style, it’s a very hard game,” Jackson added.“They are going to keep trapping no matter what the situation. You have to take care of the ball against their press, you have to sprint back in transition every time and you have to locate shooters in a hurry.”

NOC built a19-point lead midway in the first half at 49-30 before settling for a 61-45 lead at half.In the second half, the Mavs built a 100-77 lead before Cowley rallied to within 13 at 103-90 but that was as close as the Tigers would come.

JD Ray led six Maverick players in double figures with 28 points while Tyrel Morgan had 17, Avante Lederer 13, Nate Goodlow 11, and Justin Wilson 10.Lederer had 12 rebounds while Morgan added 11.Ray added eight assists.

The Mavs shot 54% from the field and 42% from 3-point range.

“We have a quick turnaround and play them again Saturday,” Jackson said.“I expect their absolute best and we will need to be ready.” Mavs 110, Cowley 96

Mavs 110, Cowley 96

Cowley 4551--96

Mavs 6149—110

Cowley—D. Rigdnall 22, C. Clark 18, C. King 13, J. Yow 10, R. Brown 9, K. Campbell 7, M. Edmundson 6, M. Henderson 5, S. Allen 4, T. Morse 2.

Mavs—JD Ray 28, T. Morgan 17, S. Grisby 15, A. Lederer 13, N. Goodlow 11, J. Wilson 10, C. Dennis 5, M. Berry 4, M. Crawford 4, K. Sesberry 3.

Cowley 89, Lady Mavs 66

The Lady Mavs, playing without starting guards Celeste Moore and Mia Brown, fell to the Lady Tigers 89-66.

“That being our first competition this season, we see innumerable things to work on,” said Lady Mavs Head Coach Greg Krause.“But it is very good to get the season started and go to work.”

Freshman Delaney Reimer led the Lady Mavs with 24 points her in collegiate debut.Chloe Brinlee and Lauren Coates added eight points each for the Lady Mavs.Travisha Cogdell led the Lady Mavs with eight rebounds.

Reimer was 8 of 14 from the floor and connected on four 3-pointers.

The Lady Mavs trailed Cowley 30-25 midway in the second quarter when Cowley went on a 24-2 run at the end of the half to take a 54-27 halftime lead.

Former Ponca City players Rylie Beard and Baylee Fincher played for Cowley. Beard led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 19 points.Fincher scored 11.

Cowley 89, Lady Mavs 66

Cowley 21332312--89

NOC151218 21--66

Cowley—R. Beard 19, J. Marlnee 13, B. Fincher 11, M. Kowalska 10, K. Daniels 10, B Byers 8, S. Boltz 7, T. Brouwer 3, S. Austin 3, T. Vang 2, L. Lally 2, S. Henderson 1.

NOC—D. Reimer 24, C. Brinlee 8, L. Coates 8, T. Cogdell 6, M. Livesay 5, R. Zhivachka 5, C. Baitley 5, G. Myers 3, K. Belcher 2.

On Saturday, NOC travels to Cowley for return games starting at 5:30 p.m.In their next home game, the Maverick men host Ft. Scott Tuesday at 4 p.m.As a reminder, no fans are allowed due to Covid-19 policies but most games are available on livestream at https://www. noc.edu/athletics/streaming/ tonkawa-athletics-streaming/ .

. The Lady Mavs next game is at Labette (KS) Jan. 29.