In turn, it was the Cougars inconsistency and turnovers down the stretch that gave the Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles their third win of the season with a 71-70 come-from-behind victory Friday night.
For the Cougars, they limp into the holiday break on a sour note after just shooting 34 percent in the second half compared to 53 percent first half shooting. WNCC coach Brian Joyce said he takes some of the blame for the Cougars 9-7 first half record.
“We played with some passion in some certain stretches, but we didn’t consistently. Obviously I did a poor job the first semester in instilling that in the guys and I have to a better job with that,” Joyce said. “We have good enough pieces to be a better team then what we are and I have to do a better job of putting those pieces in the right positions to be successful and to get guys to play with more energy.”
WNCC, though, fought hard. In the first half they were double digits for much of the first half. The Cougars, with about three minutes to play in the half, were down 36-24 after Greg Jones buried a trey.
WNCC vaulted back into the contest thanks to the outside shooting of Franklin, who buried three straight 3-pointers to put the Cougars up for the first time in the game with 45 seconds to play at 39-38. Jamie Eisinger then followed with a basket at the buzzer to put the Cougars up 41-38 at the break.
Joyce said they played hard in the first half to come back in the second half and he is proud of his team for that. But, the way they ended was not a pleasant sight.
“We fought hard to get there [the halftime lead]. We got the lead and then we gave it back. It has been a sign of this team,” he said. “It is just not that consistency there that I like.”
In the second half, though, WNCC had lead of seven points on several occasions, including a 61-54 lead after two back-to-back Daniel Smith buckets with eight minutes to play.
LCCC came storming back tying the game at 65 with 4:12 to play on a Bret Barnes trey. The Golden Eagles clawed their way back on top with 2:34 to play on another Barnes 3-pointer at 68-67.
WNCC had plenty of opportunity down the stretch, including three trips down the court with under a minute to play. But each time, the Cougars misfired turning the ball over in crucial times.
“We are playing very inconsistent and you wish you can blame it on a new team and being young, but the truth is we have played 16 games now and by that time guys need to settle in and be more consistent,” Joyce said. “At the break, we will watch a lot of tape and really analyze where we are at and what we need to improve on and hopefully when guys get back in a couple weeks we will do a better job.
LCCC’s main weapon in the win was their accurate outside shooting, hitting 10 of 15 3-pointers for 66.7 percent. Jones had the hot hand burying eight treys for a game-high 31 points.
WNCC shot a dismal 26 percent from behind the arc (5 of 19).
The Cougars also put three other players in double figures as Smith finished with 15 points followed by Eisinger with 12 and Deividas Busma with 10. Busma also collected 15 rebounds for a double-double.
WNCC, 9-7, will be off until Jan. 9 when they host
“This is a time of the year that is really difficult for anybody because guys are focusing on going home and this semester has been a challenge for everybody because you have so many new guys that are learning what you want and the transition from high school to college,” Joyce said. “But like I said, there is no excuse for us not doing a good job down the stretch.”
WNCC (9-7) 41 29 -- 70
Colby Batiste 5, Travis Bostick 10, Dionte’ Clayborn 11, Bret Barnes 6, Greg Jones 31, Odiouma Samake 8.
Jamie Eisinger 12, Daniel Smith 15, Kelvin Franklin 20, Lloyd Hickinson 2, Drew Eisinger 3, Deividas Busma 10, Chris Hamblin 4, Doradji Wilson 4.
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