The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team is entering the Region IX basketball tournament with a little bit of momentum after capturing wins in its final two regular season games of the year.
The Cougars, 17-13, open tournament play on Saturday at noon (MST) against Gillette College. Gillette enters the tournament with a 23-7 mark and boasts the nation’s leading scorer in Ryan Aaron, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Madison Heights, Mich.
WNCC assistant coach Yahosh Bonner said the team will have to play their best this weekend.
“They are very athletic and they like to run the floor,” he said. “They are a good team. We prepared for them this week in terms of how we are going to guard them and prepare for them. I think we will be ready.
“It could be a high scoring game, but we definitely want to slow down the momentum. But, when we have the chance to transition to run, we will go down and score.”
The contest features two of the hottest scorers in the region right know. Aaron is averaging 27.2 points a game while WNCC’s Brereton is averaging 20.9 points a game. Aaron has scored in double figures in all 30 games, including 10 games where he scored 30 or more points. Aaron’s season-best output was a 40-point explosion against Laramie County Community College.
Brereton is also riding that same type of offensive explosion. The sophomore transfer from Memphis, Tenn., has scored double digits in 14 straight contests. He has scored more than 30 points in five of the team’s last seven games. His season-best performance came Feb. 3 against Eastern Wyoming.
While Brereton leads the team in scoring and rebounding (7.0 boards a contest), the Cougars feature a line-up of players that any number of six different players can hit for double digits. Joe Stock, the Cougar’s only other sophomore, is averaging 8.4 points a game followed by Raul Delgado at 7.4 points, Marko Kovacevic at 7.2, Justin Standley at 7.1 and Mike Peltz at 7 points a game. Bonner said the team is definitely gaining some confidence.
“We definitely have confidence as a team and a lot of the individual players have confidence,” he said. “What is more important is that they have confidence in each other. They play hard. We are in games where we are scrambling after loose balls. We are trying to get an identity of toughness.”
While the Cougars enter the tournament with a 17-13 record, Bonner said that he easily could be even better. The Cougars have lost six games by six games or less, including an 87-86 setback to Oglala Lakota College and a 71-69 defeat to Northeast Community College. Bonner said the team has learned from those close losses.
“It is tough to lose some close games, but that is college basketball and you will lose a lot of close ones,” he said. “You just have to learn from the close ones and win the close ones that count. It is better to lose close ones earlier in the year then lose close ones later. I feel we have paid our dues by losing the close ones earlier, so we will win the close ones later on. That is what we are hoping for.”
WNCC enters the Region IX tournament knowing that any team can bring home the top prize -- a trip to the NJCAA national tournament March 15-19 in Hutchinson, Kan. The parity level in the region is intense. Only five teams have fewer than 10 losses. Northeast Nebraska, the host team, has the best record this season at 22-6 followed by Lamar Community College at 23-7.
After that, there are nine teams that have records around the .500 mark from 17-13 to 14-16 on the season, and the Cougars are one of those teams.
“It is really open of who wants it and who comes ready to play,” Bonner said. “I think a lot of the teams are excited and they know that it is up for grabs, No one has it solidified. Everybody is pretty hungry for it.”
The tournament started Friday with four first-round games with Sheridan facing Trinidad State at noon, Lamar taking on Miles at 2 p.m., Western Wyoming facing North Platte at 5 p.m. and host Northeast Nebraska competing against Central Wyoming at 7 p.m.
Saturday’s first-round action pits WNCC and Gillette at noon, Casper and McCook at 2 p.m., Northwest Wyoming against Northeastern Colorado at 5 p.m. and Laramie County Community College against Dawson Community College at 7 p.m.
If WNCC wins its first-round contest, they will tangle with the Sheridan/Trinidad State winner Sunday at noon. Semifinal action is slated for Monday with the championship on Tuesday.
Bonner said anything is possible. This team just needs to enter the tournament playing how they know best, hard-nosed basketball.
“We just need to play our game,” he said. “We have been playing really well recently. We got some momentum with some wins recently and they are playing for each other. As long as we do what we do in practice, we should be successful.”
The tournament website is located at www.northeast.edu/2011/RegionIX. There is live video streaming of all the games. WNCC contests can be heard on KOZY 101.3 FM as well as the Internet at kozy1013.com.
(All times Mountain)
Friday’s Games
Noon – Sheridan vs. Trinidad State
2 p.m. – Lamar C.C. vs. Miles C.C.
5 p.m. – Western Wyoming vs. North Platte
7 p.m. – Northeast Nebraska vs. Central Wyoming
Saturday’s Games
Noon – WNCC vs. Gillette College
2 p.m. – Casper vs. McCook
5 p.m. – Northwest Wyoming vs. Northeastern Colorado
7 p.m. – Laramie County vs. Dawson C.C.
Sunday’s Games
Noon – Sheridan/Trinidad State winner vs. WNCC/Gillette winner
2 p.m. – Lamar/Miles winner vs. Casper/McCook winner
5 p.m. – Western Wyoming/North Platte winner vs. NW Wyoming/NE Colorado winner
7 p.m. – NE Nebraska/Central Wyo. Winner vs. LCCC/Dawson winner
1 comment:
Coach Bonner is an asset to the WNCC Cougar men's basketball program. His knowledge of playing skills, especially in the areas of teaching defensive techniques and in his demonstarted success in conditioning/weight training workouts is outstanding. By next season, his efforts will result in an improved win-loss record!!
Post a Comment