NORTH PLATTE -- Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball coach John Jungers will take Saturday’s win against Southeast Community College, but he didn’t like how his team blew a commanding led to squeak by the Storm 79-73 in the final day of the Region IX shootout.
“I thought for a 40-minute game, we played well for 30 minutes,” he said. “We had some lapses and we didn’t finish them off like I hoped we would. We had several opportunities to do that.”
The Cougars held a slim 39-36 halftime lead and on several occasions in the second half, pushed the lead to 15 and 16 points much of the second half. Jungers said he challenged his team to step it up a notch in the second half.
“I told them there is 20 minutes left in the semester and I sure don’t want to be sitting down to Christmas dinner and trying to explain how we lost our last game and I don’t think they wanted to be in that situation either,” he said. “I challenged them a little bit to leave it on the floor. We have a break ahead of us and let’s get to work out there.”
They did and Matthew Akins had an excellent game finishing with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished off three assists. He also nailed a couple of 3-pointers as well.
“I have really challenged Matt and I have been hard on him because I know he has a tremendous amount of ability and potential,” Jungers said. “I think he has really responded and I was pleased with his effort tonight.”
Also playing well for the Cougars was Erik Smith, who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. WNCC also received nine points and four rebounds from CJ Hampton, and eight points each from Doradji Wilson and Ricardo De Bem. De Bem also had seven rebounds.
The Cougars will next be in action Jan. 5-6 with the New Year’s Classic at Cougar Palace. Jungers said the 10 of 12 road games this semester should pay dividends down the stretch.
“We had a decent first semester and we all grown each day. We showed we can play on the road and that will help us down the stretch,” he said. “I am encouraged going into the break at 9-3. We have made progress and gotten better from game to game. I think we have found some guys that are learning and getting better each day. That is all I can ask for.”
Southeast 36 37 – 73
WNCC 39 40 – 79
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Matthew Akiins 18, Erik Smith 17, CJ Hampton 9, Doradji Wilson 8, Ricardo De Bem 8, Chance Wallesen 5, David Busma 4, Maurice Wright 4, Keron McKinzie 2, Carl Buck 1.
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