Records will mean very little when the Western Nebraska Community College and Eastern Wyoming College basketball teams face each other Tuesday night at Cougar Palace.
Tuesday’s encounter will have even special meaning over past years as both WNCC and EWC are in the same sub-region, which makes the men’s and women’s contest of vital importance come regional tournament time. Tip-off of the women’s contest is slated for 5:30 p.m. followed by the men’s contest. The contests will on DoubleQ Country, 105.9, as well as video streamed live at www.ihigh.com/wncc.
The Cougar men, who captured their 16th win of the season after dropping McCook and Northeast Nebraska over the weekend, are on a quest to capture the South sub-region title and host the Region IX tournament in March.
WNCC coach Russ Beck said records mean very little when the two Highway 26 schools meet up. WNCC enters with a 16-3 record (4-0 in sub-region play) while EWC is 7-10 overall (2-2 in sub-region play).
“Anytime WNCC and EWC play each other, both teams will play extremely hard because they both want to win,” he said. “It is a nice rivalry because of the proximity of the schools and the history. We need to play good solid defense and be unselfish on offense and make the extra pass. We have to rebound the ball and be disruptive and play hard and together.”
Beck said the games between the two squads are always tight. Last year, WNCC won both non-sub-region meetings 74-62 and then earned a squeaker 78-76 at Torrington. Two years ago, the teams split with WNCC winning the first encounter 89-72 before EWC won handedly 66-46.
“The one thing you can expect from them is they will give everything they have,” Beck said. “They will leave nothing in the tank and no lead will be safe. We will have to gut it and claw it out and hopefully come out with a victory.”
The Cougars, who received votes in last week’s NJCAA national poll, have won seven of their last eight contests, including four straight. WNCC dropped Northeast Nebraska 91-55 on Friday before getting by McCook 93-78 on Saturday.
The Lancers split a pair of contests this past weekend, falling to McCook 72-65 before defeating Northeast Nebraska 91-88. The Lancers have some quality wins this season, however, dropping Northeastern Colorado twice 67-57 and 81-70, and Gillette College 84-74. Gillette College is in a four-way tie for first place in the north sub-region, while Northeastern Colorado is a half-game behind WNCC.
WNCC and Northeastern Colorado are the only teams with unbeaten record in sub-region play. NJC is 3-0.
“We are in control of our own destiny,” he said. “We don’t need anybody else to win or lose in order for us to keep us in a position to host the regional tournament. We just have to keep taking care of our own business, which is nice.”
The Cougars are leading Region in scoring, averaging a sizzling 95.3 points a game. Gillette College is next in line, averaging 91.4 points a game. WNCC also ranks third nationally in scoring behind Temple College (106 per game) and Cochise College (97.55 per game).
The women’s contest will also be important for the regional tournament seeding. The Cougar women are 3-1 in conference play and 16-4 overall, while the Lancers are just 3-14 on the season and 0-4 in conference play. EWC needs a win to climb out of the last place in the sub-region.
Both teams had different outcomes this past weekend. WNCC won two heart-pounding road games, getting by Northeast Nebraska 49-48 before dropping McCook in overtime 63-59. The Lancer women have lost nine straight including falling to McCook on Friday 65-39 and then Northeast Nebraska on Saturday 78-46. EWC’s last win was a 66=63 win over the Nebraska All-stars in the WNCC Thanksgiving Classic.
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