“I think our guys played very hard in the first half,” first year coach Cougar coach Brian Joyce said. “We played with a purpose from a defensive standpoint. I don’t think offensively we played smart at times. You expect that with a younger team. But, I thought our intensity in the first half was really good.”
Just like the Cougar men,
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Both opening games featured plenty of offense and defense.
The Cougars also saw Drew Eisinger get 16 points followed by Kelvin Franklin with 14 and Daniel Smith with 13. Smith also collected six assists and four steals in the win.
“We don’t run an offense that is directed to one person; it is a balanced offense. We have an offense that multiple guys can do and with it we should have balanced scoring through the year,” Joyce said. “This offense makes it a little bit more difficult to scout and play against. Hopefully, we can continue to play like a team like that and hopefully our guys won’t care who is putting the ball in the hole.”
WNCC was impressive in the season-opening win. What really jump-started the offense was a 11-0 run over a four minute period in the first half that was the telling story. The Cougars trailed 6-5 after Colby’s Koance Davis nailed his second 3-pointer.
WNCC then went on the run, which was highlighted by Hill. Hill started things with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 16:21 left in the opening half. Hill slammed home two dunks to push the lead to 16-6 before Colby scored again with 12:06 in the half.
The Cougars kept the margin near or over the double-digit mark the rest of the half. Hill was the workhorse in the first half, scoring 17 of his 19 game-high points. Hill showcased plenty of talent on the court as he put down a reverse layup for a 28-18 WNCC lead. Moments later, he nailed his third dunk of the half and then knocked home a shot over a assist by Smith to double up Colby 46-23 late in the half.
Colby never managed to slice the lead to single digits in the second half, even though the Trojans Andrew Engel nailed three straight 3-pointers to cut the lead to 65-47. Smith re-ignited the Cougars with five points for a 70-47 lead. Moments later, Drew Eisinger dribbled down the paint for a clutch basket and then Devon West slammed home the Cougar’s fifth dunk of the game en route to the 92-59 win.
Joyce said the dunks and the fast breaks are all part of this year’s offense.
“I think we have some athletic guys and they are exciting to watch,” he said. “As long as we are playing the game the right way, that is fine that we have that many dunks. That always is exciting for the crowd.”
Another key for the Cougars was their physical presence in the middle. The Cougars out-rebounded Colby 64-37 and collected 14 steals to the Trojans 7.
Just like the Cougars, the Lancers had a balanced scoring attack putting four players in double figures. George Williams paced the Lancers with 28 points, including five 3-pointers. Also netting double digits were Scotty McRae with 18 points followed by Casey Robinson and Anunais Simanavicius with 14 points each.
EWC coach Casey Jones said this was a good season-opener warm up for tomorrow’s encounter with Colby.
“It is always nice to play a game that you can get a lot of guys in and work on a lot of things we have been trying to work on in practice,” Jones said. “The group that came out to play us tonight, played hard and I thought we were able to get some things down.”
The Lancers ran out to a 55-31 halftime lead on 46 percent shooting from the floor, including nailing 5 of 14 3-pointers. EWC kept that torrid shooting up in the second half hitting on 44 percent of their shots with six 3-pointers. The Lancers finished with 11 treys for the game, led by Williams five.
“No question about it, he can shoot the basketball,” Jones said about his freshman guard from
Jones said the Lancers showed plenty of hope for the season. One area that stood out was EWC’s 3-point shooting, where they canned 11 long-range shots. The Lancers were also 14 of 18 from the charity stripe and forced 28 Nebraska All-star turnovers.
Leading the Nebraska All-stars in scoring was Tory Schwartz with 15 points and nine rebounds followed by Rich Williams with 10 points.
Ryan Guzman 7, Chris Guzman 3, Rich Williams 10, Jon Darnell 2, Cle Phillips 2, Tory Schwartz 15, Rico Gonzalez 2, Loren Gutwein 2, Issac Gonzalez 8, Fernando (Bonfim) Wilson 2.
Chris Daniels 8, Paulius Cibulskis 6, Dane Hills 2, Edsel Vila 5, Matt Pritchett 6, Leo Morris 2, Arunas Simanavicius 14, Scotty McRae 18, Jordon Johnson 5, Geroge Willams 28, Caleb Moore 7, Casey Robinson 14.
Colby CC (0-1) 23 36 – 69
Andrew Engel 17, Mikey Doll 5, Tashaun Kelly 1, Mike Boyd 14, Erick Peguero 4, TJ Schmidt 3, Everson Lacerda 2, Milos Bucalo 1, Koance Davis 12.
Jamie Eisinger 8, Daniel Smith 13, Kelvin Franklin 14, Lloyd Hickinson 5, Drew Eisinger 16, Deividas Busma 4, Chris Hamblin 4, Doradji Wilson 4, Devin Weset 5, Tearon Hill 19.
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