While the men breezed to their 14th win of the season, the Cougar women had a bit tougher contest, earning a 56-54 win over Northeast Community College.
WNCC men’s coach Brian Joyce said his team’s first half play was the difference.
“Defensively, we played as well as we have. We came out and had a lot of juice and a lot of energy,” he said. “We were really disciplined with our rotations, keeping the ball in front of us. We made it difficult for them to make shots.”
The Cougars definitely were in control of the game from the get-go, and it was the play of 6-foot-11 Deivides Busma early that paved the way. The big man scored eight of the team’s first 11 points for an 11-4 lead.
Northeast did, however, fight back in slicing the Cougar lead to 16-14 on a turnaround 3-pointer by Justin Heng with 10 minutes to play in the opening half. WNCC’s Kelvin Franklin wasted little time as he came back and trilled a 3-pointer of his own. The Cougars then went on a 25-4 run to take a 41-20 lead into the locker room.
Northeast couldn’t get closer then 18 points in the second half, giving WNCC the win.
WNCC placed three players in double figures. Franklin led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds. Busma also collected a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Smith finished with 10 points and seven assists.
The big statistic for the Cougars came on the rebounding end, outboarding the Hawks 58-36. WNCC also out shot Northeast 49 percent from the field to 28 percent.
“I thought it was a real team effort. I thought our guys got after it. We shared the ball and we played very, very unselfish. It is nice to see that at the end of the year,” Joyce said. “We have been getting better. It is just sometimes you are not rewarded when you get better with a win. Right now our margin of error is really small, so it was good for our guys to work hard and be awarded for it.”
While the Cougar men breezed to an easy win, the Cougar women were in a dog-fight. WNCC held a 56-50 lead with 2:06 to play on a Chelsea Lyles 3-pointer. But the Cougars couldn’t put the Hawks away as they sliced the lead to two points on two free throws by Jennifer Heiler with just under a minute to play.
WNCC then missed a 3-pointer attempt with 23 seconds to play. Northeast brought the ball down only to be whistled for an offensive foul with 9.3 second left.
The Cougars couldn’t salt away the win as they missed a free throw with 8.2 seconds. That was when freshman Jenna Colwell saved the game for the Cougars, stealing the to give the Cougars their 23rd win of the season.
WNCC women’s coach Dave Harnish said they were lucky to get the win. He was also scratching his head for clues of why his team turned in the performance they did after a big win over Casper on Tuesday.
“This win is really disappointing because I thought the last couple of weeks we were playing well. The intensity level has been there and the defense has been there,” Harnish said. “We made a lot of mistakes defensively tonight. We are very fortunate to come away with a win. . Once again, it came down to why from the big win in Casper where we were very sound and focused and we didn’t do that today. It almost caught us.”
WNCC’s Emma Beddome was the big gun for the Cougars, scoring 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Beddome also had five rebounds and two steals.
The other key to the win was the Cougars depth. WNCC’s bench outscored the Hawks 25-12 on the night, led by Carly Glisan and Shaquilah Davis with eight points each. Gilsan also had two treys on the night.
The Cougar men will be back in action Monday night when they host North Platte at 7:30 p.m.
WNCC (23-4) 35 21 — 56
NOTHEAST
Jasmine Lovejoy 14, Mairead McNally 9, Elisha Foley 2, Alexis Hubriger 6, Deja Watson 13, Brittany Reeg 2, Raelene Buschow 1, Jennifer Heiler 4, Whitley Smiley 3.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Dana Iverson 6, Emma Beddome 16, SeLina Ysac 6, Shaquilah Davis 8, Tawny Drexler 2, Jenna Colwell 3, Chelsea Lyles 7, Carly Iverson 8.
WNCC (14-12) 41 40 — 81
NORTHEAST
DeAndre Jones 8, Justin Heng 5, Robert Pogue 15, Denykco Bowles 4, Colten Delong 2, Jason Snow 10, Oneil Mangal 2, Brett Shively 4, Archie Boyd 2.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Jamie Eisinger 8, Daniel Smith 10, Oscar Cartwright 6, Kelvin Franklin 19, Lloyd Hickinson 8, Drew Eisinger 3, Deividas Busma 15, Chris Hamblin 5, Doradji Wilson 1, Devin West 4, Terrell Price 2.
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