SHAWNEE, Oklahoma -- The NOC Mavericks season came to an end Friday afternoon in the Region 2 Semi-Finals as the Mavs lost to Connors 65-56.
The loss ends the Mavs' season at 20-11.
NOC was led by sophomore Deon Berrien with 13 while fellow sophomore Omar Boone added 10.
The Mavs led the Cowboys 36-35 early in the second half on two Boone free throws but Connors then went on a 7-0 run to take a 42-36 lead.
NOC cut the lead to 54-48 on a Berrien free throw and then 57-53 on a Barron Tanner free throw but the Cowboys outscored the Mavs 8-3 the rest of the way.
Elafayette Stone led then Mavs with five rebounds though Connors won the rebound battle 39-27. Stone added nine points as well.
Khobe Austin-Johnson had nine points for the Mavs but injured his ankle with 6:54 remaining and never returned.
"As I reflect on the year, I'm really proud of what our guys did," said coach Donnie Jackson. "We faced three season ending injuries, all to significant players as far as roles on the team plus Omar (Boone) was out six weeks. We played a legitimate schedule and with all of that we still won 20 games, finished 3rd in the conference and reached the Region 2 semi-finals."
"I credit that to guys stepping up in new roles and making the most of it," Jackson added. "A lot of teams would have checked it in but we didn't. That says a lot to me."
Connors 65, Mavs 56
1 2-Total
Mavs 31 25-- 56
Connors 33 32-- 65
Mavs--D. Berrien 13, O. Boone 10, K. AustinJohnson 9, E. Stone 9, K. Perry 7, M. Downing 4, D. Bankston 3, B. Tanner 1.
Connnors--I. Jones 21, C. Hayden 11, B. Putnam 11, T. Jones 8, T. Sidberry 8, M. Lowe 4, J. Graham 1.