Cougar men win 73-72 on free throw after the buzzer

Western Nebraska Community College freshman Maurice Wright has never experienced a game like Saturday night against Lamar Community College. With no time on the clock and a deadlocked contest, Wright was standing at the free line knowing that just one charity toss would give WNCC the win. The 6-foot-2 Detroit calmly hit the shot to give the Cougars a thrilling 73-72 win over the Runnin’ Lopes in the WNCC Classic.

“Coach told me to relax that you have two free throws and you put one down and we win the game,” an excited Wright said moments after sinking the winning free throw. “That is the first time I have been in a situation like that. I was nervous but my teammates said be cool you got this. I made the first free throw and we went out of there with the win.

WNCC coach John Jungers said this win shows just how good this team can be. “This is a great win and it showed our true character of our team. We didn’t quit and we didn’t give up. We competed. We battled,” he said. “We had a freshman step with no time on the clock and he made a big free throw. It says a lot about our program and the direction we are heading.

Wright finished with five points on the night, and while his clutch free throw was the winning shot, it was the play of his teammates all night long, that registered the win. “This was a team effort and it is always a team effort,” Wright said. “There is no I in team. It was a team effort and we worked hard. They scored 14 points in the first two minutes of the game and then 14 points in the rest of the 18 minutes of the half. That is our defense that we had in the first half.”

Early on, Lamar took it to the Cougars running out to a 14-2 lead. WNCC regrouped and tied the game at 24 on a Erik Smith 3-pointer with six minutes remaining in the half and went on to lead 29-28 at intermission. The second half was back and forth with nine lead changes. With just under five minutes to play, Lamar took a 65-62 lead on two Darius Joseph free throws. WNCC’s Ricardo De Bem brought the Cougars back scoring five points , including a dunk with 1:40 to play to give the Cougars a 70-69 lead.

Seconds later, Wright took a pass from Smith and drove the lane to put the Cougars up 72-69. Lamar came back and tied the game on a bucket by Mike Bogar with 14.8 seconds to play, which led to Wright’s drive on the baseline that saw him get fouled as time the clock hit zero.

Jungers said the way this team played, shows a lot of promise for the season. “I think we have the ability to be a very good team but it is a team effort. It is just not one guy and it doesn’t all fall on my shoulders,” he said. “We have some kids [that can play] and I thought our fans stepped up and gave us a little energy that we didn’t have early on. We need that here at Cougar Palace.”

CJ Hampton led the Cougars with 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Three of those treys came during a two minute stretch in the second half that brought WNCC from a 49-45 deficit to a 56-53 lead. Ricardo De Bem was the other Cougar in double digits finishing with 22 points. He also pulled down nine rebounds.

“Every night it will be someone different,” Jungers said. “CJ stepped up big for us and Ricardo showed why he should be an all-American and why Texas Tech should really recruit him.”

The Cougars will be in action next week when they compete in the Colby Tournament beginning Thursday.

Colby (2-1) 56 52 — 108
Little Big Horn (0-2) 37 54 — 91
COLBY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Shedric Cole 18, A.J. Stephens 9, Jorge Canedo 12, Tyler Turner 8, T.J. Schmidt 16, Troy Smith 9, Camilo Londono 14, Mike Mosley 20, John Ortiz 2.
LITTLE BIG HORN
Frank Yellowtail 6, Kevin Yazzie 2, Cameron McCormide 8, Darrell Morning 2, Bobby Takes Enemy 11, Isiah Stewart 6, Terrence Fixico 6, Ellis Old Bull 15, Clint Fitzpatrick 20, Andy Roundtree 4, Aaron Stops 7, Robert Hugs 2.

Lamar (2-1) 28 44 — 72
WNCC (2-0) 29 44 — 73
LAMAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Darius Joseph 12, Roman Andrade 2, Brandon Johnson 23, Delvin Franklin 14, DeShawn Wolfe 13, Jerry Nash 2, Mike Bogar 6.
WESTERN NEBRASKA CC
Keron McKenzie 3, Chance Wallesen 3, Maurice Wright 5, Erik Smith 8, Antonio Jones 3, Beno Jaekel 1, Matthew Akins 2, CJ Hampton 23, Doradji Wilson 3, Ricardo De Bem.