By Angie Ledbetter

The North Delta Green Wave varsity boys won in a physical battle that came down to the last few minutes of the game on Friday when they hosted the Deer Creek Warriors and came out with a 41-38 victory to start off the new year.

The Warriors got a jump start going up six points before the Green Wave scored. Taylor Herron scored on a three-pointer to put the first points up for the Green Wave team. The Warriors led until the Green Wave tied the game at 11 to end the first quarter.

Herron started the second quarter with a three- pointer to put the Green Wave up 14-11. It was not until 4:38 that the Green Wave scored again. Herron scored two points to tie the game at 16. The Warriors went up by two but then the Green Wave rebounded and took the lead when Herron hit another three with 1:55 left on the clock for the 19-18 lead. The game was tied again at 21 with 37.8 seconds left on the clock. The Green Wave led 23-21 at the half.

The third quarter was a defensive battle and neither team put a lot of points on the scoreboard. The Green Wave scored 10 points and the Warriors scored six. The Green Wave was up 33-27 at the end of the third quarter and battling to keep a lead over the Warriors.

With 3:04 left in the game, the Green Wave had a 37-35 lead.  John Terry Moore scored going up 39-35 with 2:45 on clock.

The Green Wave fouled and put Deer Creek on the free throw line. Deer Creek scored one of two baskets to cut the lead 39-36 with less than two minutes left in the game.

The Green Wave fouled again and Deer Creek went back to the free throw line and scored one more to pull within one, 39-38.

Geri Lamm made one free throw to give the Green Wave a 40-38 lead when Deer Creek got a technical foul. Moore made one shot and the game ended with the 41-38 Green Wave victory.

Herron scored 16 points and had three rebounds. Lamm scored 10 points, had two steals, two assists, and two rebounds. John Terry Moore had eight points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist. Michael Johnson had seven rebounds, five steals, and two blocks. Bateman Greenlee had two points, six rebounds, and two steals. Hunter West had two points, two steals, and two rebounds. Clayton Cole had three rebounds.

“Deer Creek was huge,” said head Green Wave coach Brad Wilson.  “They have some big boys, 6’5” and 6’3” real big and strong.  We knew that coming in. We knew that we had to come in and play physical and block out and we didn’t do that the way we could’ve or should’ve but the boys played hard. They never gave up the whole night.  I told them before the game that they had to work harder than their opponents. I was real proud of everybody tonight. Our record is 7-4 and we are 2-1 in our district. We are coming along real good.”

There was a very familiar face that was coaching the junior high teams and assisting the varsity teams for the Deer Creek Warriors.  Will Florence, a native of Batesville and a 2001 North Delta graduate, is in his first year as a coach. Florence played basketball at North Delta his junior high and high schools years.