By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
DEARBORN - North Andrew rallied from a 10-point, first half deficit and needed a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 25 seconds to fend off Mound City, 56-54, in the opening round of the North Platte tournament Monday night.
Mound City (11-8) got off to a 7-2 start and led 27-17 midway through the second quarter after dominating on the glass early. North Andrew (13-4) closed the gap, pulled down some rebounds and only trailed 33-29 at the break.
The Cardinals came out hot in the second half, starting the third quarter on a 7-0 run. A three-pointer by senior Hayden Ecker gave the Cardinals their first lead at 36-33 with 4:43 left in the third.
"I feel like it gave the team the boost we needed to come back," said sophomore Braxon Linville, who led North Andrew Monday with 25 points. "I feel like that gave us the energy boost we needed to get in transition and get a couple of buckets, and we just kept playing from there."
Mound City eventually answered, but the Cardinals led 45-42 entering the fourth. The Panthers then got down by nine after a 6-0 Cardinal run, but Mound City reeled off a 9-0 run of their own to tie the game at 51 with 1:57 remaining.
Mound City briefly retook the lead in the closing minute after a basket-and-one by senior Trevor Tubbs. But on the ensuing possession, Linville passed the ball on the left corner to an open Trey McDaniel, who knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 20 seconds left.
"We were trying to get Braxon to drive down the right-hand side for a layup," North Andrew coach Wade Bryson said. "Braxon made a great read. They triple-teamed him and he found Trey in the corner. Trey stepped up, shot it with confidence and knocked it down."
North Andrew missed the front end of a one-and-one twice in the those last 20 seconds, giving Mound City a couple of chances to tie or even win the game, but the Panthers came up empty.
Senior Gunner Lawrence had nine points for North Andrew, while fellow senior Collin Patterson tallied eight. Bryson said once Linville got going, and once the Cardinals started getting rebounds, the tables turned in their favor.
"Early in the game, (Mound City) got a lot of offensive boards," Bryson pointed out. "That put us in a little bit of a hole, but our guys responded well, especially led by Braxon. Stepping up and it started with his rebounds. He had some one-on-three type rebounds and then we got out in transition, got some buckets and were able to come back."
Senior Gavyn Salsbury led Mound City with 18 points, including eight points in the fourth quarter. Tubbs had 17, while fellow senior Chanse Summers scored 11.
North Andrew advances to Thursday's semifinal round to face Platte Valley (17-1), who defeated Polo Monday, 44-30. It'll be a rematch of the Stanberry tournament championship, when Platte Valley beat North Andrew 60-34 on January 14.
It was a game where Linville couldn't play due to illness.
"I bet we put in a couple of things for them and then play our hearts out," Linville said. "We'll see."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.