The NOC men hammered Wester 96-73 in Region II action Thursday night at Foster Piper Fieldhouse in Tonkawa.

The Mavericks improved to 19-4, 8-1 in conference play.

NOC scored 96 points Thursday night but it was the Mavs defense that earned the win over the Pioneers.

The Maverick defense held the NJCAA leading scorer Darron Johnson to just eight points, 22 points below his average.

"We had some nice defensive stretches in the game," said head coach Donnie Jackson.  "I was proud of our guys for holding the nation's leading scorer to just eight points.  Deon (Berrien) and Omar (Boone) both did some good things.  I was proud of their efforts."

Berrien scored 18 points while Boone came off the Maverick bench adding 18.  Boone filled in admirably for starting guard Khobe Austin-Johnson who played sparingly due to an ankle injury.

"We played well at times but we need to tighten some things down the stretch if we want to be a contender when it matters."

NOC trailed the Pioneers 12-4 early before putting together an 18-3 run to taking a 25-15 lead midway in the first half.

NOC built the lead to as many as 26 in the second half.

Amir Allen added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavs while Trevion Lamar added 12.  Boone also added five assists for the Mavs.

Western   32   41--  73

NOC        48   48--  96

NOC—Omar Boone 18, Deon Berrien 18, Amir Allen 16, Trevion Lamar 12, Keiodre Perry 9, Anselm Uzuegbunem 9, Chris Hamil 6, Demaree King 4, Elafayette Stone 2, Brandon Combs 2.

Western—Webster Simeus 14, Lavorris Givins 14, Jeshon Jones 12, James Davis 8, Obiajulum 8, Tyler Knight 7, Troy Green 5, Seljan Johnson 3, Daiquan Wyatt 2.