Game Information
Women, 5:30 p.m.
Radio KOAQ AM690
Men, 7:30 p.m.
Radio: KOZY FM101.3
Location: Sterling, Colo.
Western Nebraska Community College’s Brian Joyce played for, coached at and met his wife Tina, at Northeastern Junior College. So when Joyce brings his Cougar men into Wednesday night’s contest against the Plainsmen, it might seem a tad funny to be on the opponent’s bench, or at least for a while.
“It will be different coaching there. Obviously, me and my wife met there, I played there and I have coached there, so there are a lot of fond memories about the town, the community, the campus, and the people,” Joyce said on his return back to Sterling, Colo. “The people there have been really good to my family, and [Lowell] Roumph, who was my coach and mentor, is still there and I talk to him at various times. It will be exciting to go back. It will be a little bit different, but once the tip is up, then you focus on the game and trying to get a win.”
The Cougar men will be looking for their 13th win of the season against a NJC team that is 17-3 on the season at 7:30 p.m. at the Bank of Colorado Center in Sterling. The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in a game that features two teams that are evening matched.
Joyce knows that what matters most is how his team performs on the court.
“It will be really intense and I think it will be exciting. It will be a fun game to be a part of and I know our guys are really excited about it,” he said. “And, to win on the road, you have to do the little things that make a difference, such as eliminate easy baskets, eliminate second shots and we have to beat them to the ball in a lot of situations. It will be a tough game to win on the road, but I think our guys, mentally, know what it takes.”
WNCC enters the contest on a 3-game winning streak after defeating McCook Community College, Laramie County Community College and Casper College since coming back from break. In fact, the Cougars defeated LCCC in double overtime 72-71 two weeks ago. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles upended No. 16 Sheridan College on a last second shot.
The Cougar men also played one of their best contests last time out, a 90-81 win over Casper College, who came into the contest with a 12-4 record. Joyce said his team is starting to put all the pieces together.
“We have come a long way. I still think we have a long way to go and our upside is still pretty big in terms of where we can go,” Joyce said. “We just take it one game at a time and hopefully gain some momentum to where you are playing well at the end of the year. Right know we have been playing pretty well and we will have a good test on the road.”
Definitely WNCC will be tested when they tip off against NJC. At the same time, both teams bring the same kind of teams into the contest. The Cougars are averaging 77.5 points a game, while giving up 67.7 points. WNCC has three players in double figures. Daniel Smith leads the team at 13.0 points a game, followed by Kelvin Franklin at 12.5 points and Drew Eisinger at 12.2 points a game.
The Plainsmen, who won the regional title a year ago, is averaging 80 points a game while giving up 68.2 points. So, on paper, the teams are pretty similar considering that the Plainsmen also have three players averaging in double figures.
Troy Smith is leading NJC at 13.5 points a game followed by Mike Dominguez at 11.7 points, including 59 3-pointers already this season. DeRay Wilson is also averaging 10.7 points a contest.
“There is now question that our focus is to keep improving for the regional tournament and the guys have been working hard and along the way you have little tests to see how you have improved,” Joyce said. “This is a big test on the road. We will get a real idea of what we need to work on and where we are at and how we stack up against a better team. This will be a good test for us.”
Just like the men’s contest, the women’s contest will also test the Cougar women’s ability to keep getting better. Women’s coach Dave Harnish said it really isn’t a big game for his squad in being a sub-region contest, but what it is in turn is a contest that he hopes his team will continue to build upon for the regional tournament later in the season.
“We are playing a team that is one of the top teams in the region and anytime you go on the road and play a very good team, it is always difficult,” he said. “What Sterling brings is they bring back sophomore leadership at the guard position. It is always tough when you go down there regardless of records. It is a good game for us. We need to learn to play on the road against good teams and it will make us better as the year goes along.”
The Cougar women, 17-3, have won 13 straight contests. Last week against Casper, the Cougar women played one of their best games in rolling over Casper College 80-44, behind a 34-point performance off the bench. NJC also defeated Casper recently in a defensive battle 44-41 on the road.
“I thought we played well against Casper, but we also had a motive there where Casper beat us last year in the championship game. Our girls were pumped up and excited to play Casper. I guess you hope they have that same emotion throughout of what they did against Casper in every game. We have to play well with a lot of enthusiasm to be successful, especially tomorrow night (Wednesday night). If we not come out with the same emotion as we did against Casper, it will be a tough night.”
Defense is what is carrying the Cougar women so far. They are giving up just 48 points a game, fourth in the NJCAA national statistics. Miles Community College, a Region IX team, leads the nation allowing 45 points a game, while Wednesday’s opponent, NJC, is 10th allowing 52.5 points a game.
“Defense is a key for us in the sense we have to play good defense. We have struggled offensively,” Harnish said. “We did come out against Casper and had a little bit better rhythm, but for the most part we have not produced offensively as well as I have liked. We have not shot the ball well consistently. We have struggled offensively throughout the year so defense has to be a staple to our success, especially if you play on the road.”
Offensively, the Cougars are averaging 72.5 points a game, while the Plainswomen are scoring at a clip of 74.5 points a game.
WNCC has three players averaging in double figures. Chelsea Lyles leads the team averaging 13.7 points a game and 5.2 rebounds a game. Right behind Lyles is Emma Beddome and Alison Cheney each averaging 10 points a contest.
The Plainswomen are led by Guernsey-Sunrise graduates Jennifer Garner and Sarah Conner. Garner is averaging 10 points and five rebounds, while Conner is posting 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.8 steals a contest.
After the NJC contest, both Cougar teams will hit the road for key sub-region contests against Northeast Community College in Norfolk as both teams look to stay unbeaten in sub-region play.
The games Wednesday can be heard on the radio and Internet. The women’s contest can be heard on AM690, while the men’s game will be on KOZY-FM101.3.
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