WNCC men pick up 14th win of season with win over LCCC

   The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team scored 52 second-half points in rolling to their third straight victory with an 85-78 south sub-region win over Laramie County Community College Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.
                The Cougars put five players in double figures in their 14^th win of the season. More importantly, they shut down the explosive one-two scoring attack of LCCC’s Deshon Portley and Deon Edwin, who lead the region in scoring, averaging over 20 points a game.
                On the flipside, the Cougars committed just six second half turnovers while shooting 47 percent from the field. Preston Christensen, who finished with 15 points, had one of his best games as a Cougar after coming off a first-semester injury, said this was a good win for this squad.
                “This is definitely a big win for us because coach told us before the game that they were one game ahead of us in the sub-region and we won so we jumped them,” he said. “It is a big win and it boosts our confidence when you can beat teams that have beat you before.”
                The first time the two squads battled, it was on Dec. 3 in Cheyenne and the Golden Eagles came out with a 96-86 win. This time around, the Cougars held LCCC to 20 points less. Christensen said a big key was the adjustments they made. Another factor is the two teams are playing differently; the Cougars have won four of their last six contests, and the Golden Eagles have dropped four of their last five sub-region games.
                “For preparations for this game, we concentrated on just stopping the ball early because that is how they hurt us the first time we played them,” Christensen said. “We also know if we come out and out-rebound our opponents we usually will win.”
                The Cougars’ offensive weapons came from a variety of players as they sizzled the nets for 44 percent shooting and 79 percent from the free throw line. LCCC shot the ball well, too, hitting on 42 percent from the field and 84 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles also popped home nine 3-pointers.
                The Cougars’ scoring attack was led by Tyler Crosbie and Diante Mithcell who each had 17 points. Crosbie’s points all came in the second half. Right behind the two explosive guards were Youssoupha Kane with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Christensen had 15 followed by Joel Einfeldt with 10 points.
                “Tyler is big time and we know he will come through,” Christensen said. “That is the good thing about have a four-guard line-up on the floor at the same time is that anyone can go off at any one time. That is a plus.”
                For LCCC, Edwin led all scorers with 25 points, including three 3-pointers. The Golden Eagles other deadly shooter, Portley, finished with just six points.
                Christensen said a big key in the game was how they performed in the second half, especially on the boards. The Cougars out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 43-31 with Brandon Morley lead the way with 12 boards.
                “The difference in the halves definitely was rebounds and turnovers. I think at halftime we had 15 turnovers and we gave up 10 offensive rebounds and we definitely limited that in the second half. That helped us get more possessions in the second half and we scored.”
                The first half was a series of runs for both teams. LCCC had the biggest run in the first 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles held a slim 35-33 lead and then went on a 8-0 run to close out the half for a 43-33 halftime lead.
                The second half was back and forth for the first 10 minutes. LCCC pushed the lead to 59-50 on 3-pointers by Edwin and Michael Dermody with 10:40 to play. That was when the Cougar offensive kicked it up a notch, going on a 19-2 run to lead 69-61. The big run was highlighted by seven points from Crosbie, a big monster dunk by Kane, and a 3-pointer by Mitchell.
                WNCC kept the lead around eight for much of the remainder of the game until LCCC made a rally, slicing the lead to 76-73 on a 3-pointer by Spencer Svejcar with 1:15 to play. After that, it was clutch free throw shooting by the Cougars as they were 9 of 10 in the final minute of play for the win.
                WNCC will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Trinidad State and Otero Junior College on Friday and Saturday. Christensen said they need to keep this momentum going in the final month of the regular season.
                “We just have to keep our momentum going with mostly rebounding and eliminating turnovers,” he said. “Plus, anytime we have an opportunity to get out on transition, we have to push the ball. “

LCCC (15-10)                       43 35 – 78
WNCC (14-9)                      33 62 – 85
LARAMIE COUNTY
Deshon Portley 6, Darien Fernandez 8, Ben Davis 5, Kamari Robinson 9, Deon Edwin 25, Spencer Svejcar 8, Michael Dermody 6, Kendyl Grover 11.
WNCC
Tayler Crosbie 17, Preston Christensen 15, Youssoupha Kane 16, Diante Mitchell 17, DouDou Gueye 2, Joel Einfeldt 10, Brandon Morley 8.