WNCC scores 62 second-half points, downs NJC 85-73

               Hauns Brereton and Raul Delgado combined for 55 points, but it was the Western Nebraska Community College’s 62 second-half points that sealed the win for the Cougars, 85-73, over the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.
                Brereton finished with 35 points, including 15 of 22 from the free throw line, while Delgado collected 20 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the charity stripe. Delgado’s 20 points, however, were immensely huge as the freshman scored six straight points and had a monster ally-oop dunk that electrified the audience.
                “The lob that Raul caught that he really got up there was a momentum changer,” WNCC coach Russ Beck said. “When we grabbed the lead we hung on to it. He was the big reason why. He had some match ups where we thought they couldn’t guard him and he took advantage of them.”
                The Cougars needed a spark as they were flat-out terrible in the first half. The Cougars fell behind the eight ball in the first half, 32-19 and limped into the locker room down 34-23.
                Beck said that he was proud of his team with the way they came out and responded in the second half, outscoring the Plainsmen 62-39.
                “We scored 62 points in the second half, and I don’t know if I sprinkled a little magic dust on them at halftime. I definitely was upset with the way we played in the first half,” he said. “They were definitely the aggressors. They were beating us on loose balls and hustle plays. We also didn’t want to give up any lay ups and in the first half we probably gave up 12 lay ups. The second half we came out and they were fired up. I was glad to see that they responded to the little pep talk.”
                The second half was the difference in the game as the Cougars shot 58 percent from the field compared to NJC’s 34 percent in the second half. The big differences, though, was free throw shooting and rebounding. The Cougars out-rebounded the Plainsmen 42-33, while converting on 38 of 58 free throws for the game. WNCC was 33 of 47 from the charity stripe in the second half compared to 17 of 24 for NJC. There were a total of 56 fouls called and six technical fouls called between the two teams. NJC had five technicals.
                What led to the team’s second half explosion was taking advantage of NJC’s weaknesses.
                “The first half we did a poor job of bringing the ball up the floor,” Beck said. “In the second half we realized they ran a great transition defense so we pushed the ball and they put us to the line 47 times in the second half.
                “I am pleased with the team overall and I am pleased that we had a good half. The first half was terrible and now we have a little bit of momentum going into the tournament.”
                NJC bolted to a 41-25 lead in the second half before the Cougars cut the lead to single digits with an 8-0 run that was highlighted by Delgado’s six straight points. The lead stayed around nine points for the next few minutes. With the Plainsmen up 52-43 with about 10 minutes gone in the game, WNCC started to pick up the pressure, going on a 6-0 run that brought the Cougars back to 52-49.
                NJC pushed the lead back to 59-53 before Mike Peltz tied the game with two free throws with 6:27 to play at 59-59. NJC answered with an old-fashioned play by James Stukes, only to watch the Cougars go on a 11-0 run over the next three minutes. Brereton gave the Cougars the lead with 5:24 to play by hitting a trey from the corner. WNCC then hit six straight free throws to go up 70-62.
                The Plainsmen fought back to within four points on buckets by Stukes and Widget Washington, who finished with 30 points, at 70-66. But, Justin Standley had five straight points and the Cougars hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final minute to get their 17^th win of the season.
                WNCC, 17-13, had just two players in double figures with Brereton and Delgado. Peltz and Aaron Turner each finished with nine points. Peltz was 9 of 12 from the free throw line.
                The Cougars will next be in action Saturday when they begin regional tournament action in Norfolk when they face Gillette College at noon (MST).

NE Colorado                       34 39 – 73
WNCC                                   23 62 – 85
NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
Ray Riley 2, Kameron Pearce 10, Donthe Lucas 4, Widgett Washington 30, BJ Dunbar 5, Tyrell Williams 2, James Stukes 18, Austin Maag 2.
WNCC
Brady Mason 1, Mike Peltz 9, Justin Standley 7, Joe Stock 2, Hauns Brereton 35, Raul Delgado 20, Marko Kovacevic 2, Aaron Turner 9.