WNCC men capture 10th win of the season with 102-27 win over NCTA

                The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team started slow against the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture out of Curtis, but once the offense heated up, the Cougars recorded its 10^th win of the season with a 102-27 win over the Aggies Tuesday at The Palace.

                Hard to believe, the Cougars trailed the Aggies at one point and freshman Mason Smith said they did start slow, but it didn’t take long for the Cougars high-octane offense to crank up.

                “We started kind of slow, playing to the level of the opponent but as the game went along we came together as a team and made each other look better,” freshman Mason Smith, who finished with 16 points, said. “Every game that we play, we try to get better no matter who we play and we try to prepare for the next game. [Tonight] it was just try to get better. We wanted to show the ball [make passes] and play defense. I think we did a good job of that.”

                NCTA held a 3-2 lead early as Dusty Metzner buried a 3-pointer. After that, however, the Cougars went on a 19-3 run to take a 28-6 lead on an Allen Beck bucket. Luke Schweitzer stopped the scoring spree momentarily by draining a 3-pointer, but the Cougars finished out the half scoring 20 straight points, including seven straight from Smith for a 48-9 halftime lead.

                The second half was all WNCC as they led 72-13 on a Raul Delgado dunk and later led 91-18 on back-to-back buckets by Terrance Motley. NCTA kept fighting hard, however, scoring four straight points and outscoring the Cougars 9-6 late.

                The Cougars placed five players in double figures on the night, led by Sebastian Suarez with 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Marcus Johnson finished the contest with a double-double, collecting 14 points and 11 rebounds.

                Also for the Cougars, Smith finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Delgado had 14 points and Du’Vaughn Maxwell collected 10 points.

                WNCC’s height was a factor on the boards as the Cougars out-rebounded the Aggies 53-21. WNCC also force 25 turnovers, including getting 22 steals. Cal McCoy led the team with five steals.

                “The guys off the bench came in and played well,” Smith said. “We were able to contribute. Marcus Johnson played well for us and got a lot of rebounds and points.”

                The Cougars, however, didn’t play a perfect contest as they committed 16 turnovers. WNCC also shot just 53 percent (9 of 17) from the free throw line, while the Aggies were 75 percent (3 of 4).

                WNCC, 10-2, will next hit the road for the College of Southern Idaho tournament this weekend. The Cougars will face Cape Fear Community College on Friday night and then Raleighs Finest Sports Academy on Saturday to round out the first semester.

                Smith said they will have to play even better this weekend to finish off the first semester with three straight wins.

                “It will take playing tough defense, getting stops, and executing on the offensive end,” he said.

NCTA                     9 18 – 27

WNCC                   48 54 – 100

NCTA

Luke Schweitzer 5, Waylon Christen 4, Dusty Metzner 3, Jason Trausch 5, Pete Martin 6, William Leapley 4.

WNCC

Tahir Little 5, Allen Beck 6, Cal McCoy 2, Brady Mason 2, Du’Vaughn Maxwell 10, Mason Smith 16, Raul Delgado 14, Sebastian Suarez 20, Marko Kovacevic 6, Terrance Motley 7, Marcus Johnson 14.