Raul Delgado paced the team with 23 points, including four 3-pointers, but more importantly the Cougars also out-rebounded Ft. Collins 59-31. The rebounding edge proved huge as the Cougars prepare for huge games next weekend when they will face an undefeated Northwest Wyoming squad and the defending national champions College of Southern Idaho at Cougar Palace.
WNCC coach Russ Beck said he is hoping the way they battled tonight is carried over next weekend against two talented squads.
“We have been looking forward to this next weekend for a while,” Beck said. “Laramie County is coming in as a co-host, who is a good team in our sub-region. We have Northwest Wyoming who right know is undefeated and CSI who is No. 6 in the country. So, it is a great weekend for basketball and we hope the people come out and support us.”WNCC will definitely need the kind of effort that they displayed Saturday night next weekend. What was especially key for the Cougars against Ft. Collins was rebounding and free throw shooting. Of WNCC’s 59 rebounds, 27 came on the offensive end. Terrance Motley led the way with seven boards followed by Marko Kovacevic with six.
“The rebounding margin stood out,” Beck said. “We were a little active of 59 rebounds to 31. We got a lot of offensive rebounds. That is a plus and a minus because that means we are missing some shots, but it is good that we are being active.”
On the shooting side, WNCC was 22 of 33 from the charity stripe as they hit 6 of 8 in the final two minutes of the contest where they went on a 14-6 run to open up a tight 78-70 contest. They opened up the contest on old-fashioned 3-point plays from Terrance Motley and Raul Delgado.
And, WNCC needed every ounce of that physical game to come away with the win and Beck was pleased with how his team performed tonight.
“Ft. Collins is a bunch of guys that know how to play. We were able to hit our free throws down the stretch and our team rallied and played together,” Beck said. “This team [Ft. Collins] was not going to quit. If you let up an inch then they are right back in the ball game. They did that few times. We were able to keep their runs to a minimum.”
WNCC never had firm control of the contest as Ft. Collins never gave up. The all-star team held an 8-6 early in the first and later led 16-15 with 12 minutes to play in the opening half. Two squads were tied at 19-19 after Ft. Collins. Terel Hughes buried a 3-pointer.
The Cougars then went on a 12-0 run behind four points form Kovacevic, a driving layup by Tahir Little and a slam dunk by Du’Vaughn Maxwell for a 31-19 lead. Ft. Collins battle back with an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 35-34 before the Cougars’ Delgado buried back-t0-back 3-pointers. Little and Delgado then capped off the first half with two free throws each for a 48-40 lead.
The second half was a bruising battle as both squads played hard. Ft. Collins fought back to slice the lead to 63-60 on a 5-point play by Corey Rucker. The 5-point play included an old-fashioned 3-point play and two technical free throws with 10:10 to play. After that technical, WNCC came out and pushed the lead to 71-61 on a Maxwell dunk.
After Delgado’s 23 points, Maxwell and Little each had 14 points, while Kovacevic added 11.
WNCC (8-1) will tangle with Northwest Wyoming next Friday in the first day of the Holiday Classic before taking on College of Southern Idaho on Saturday. Both Cougar games will be at 7:30 p.m. Laramie County Community College will also take part in the Classic with games at 5:30 p.m. Both days of the Holiday Classic will be video-streamed at www.ihigh.com/wncc.
Ft. Collins
WNCC (8-1) 48 44 – 92
FT. COLLINS ALL-STARS
Terel Hughes 11, Jonathan Bennett 5, Corey Rucker 15, Zerek Knight 15, Thomas Jefferson 3, Zach Gehihaus 23, Oranzie Simmons 4
WNCC
Tahir Little 11, Mike Peltz 3, Allen Beck 2, Brady Mason 4, Du’Vaughn Maxwell 14, Mason Smith 6, Raul Delgado 23, Sebastian Suarez 6, Marko Kovacevic 11, Terrance Motley 7.
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