WNCC Cougar men lost heartbreaker at the buzzer

NORFOLK – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team fell a few ticks of the clock short of picking up a win Saturday afternoon against Northeast Community College at Norfolk.

The Hawks used a tip-in at the buzzer to come back from a 8-point deficit to sting the Cougars 78-76 in a East Sub-region contest.

“We gave that game away,” WNCC first-year coach Russ Beck said. “We played a good second half, but we can’t turn over the ball on our last offensive possession and not box out on our last defensive possession. It’s hard enough to win the road, we don’t need to give teams extra chances. We are like a wounded animal. We will see how we react on Monday at home against Eastern Wyoming. Will we succumb? Or will we claw and scratch and fight for a win?”

The Cougars definitely clawed and fought in the contest against Northeast Nebraska up until the final 30 seconds of the contest when mental miscues gave the Hawks new life in a game that was tightly contested throughout. Northeast held a slim 40-38 lead at halftime. WNCC finally took their first lead in the second half on a Francisco Cruz bucket.

Cruz continued with the hot hand eight of the team’s next 10 points to push the score to 57-51. Northeast forged back taking a 62-60 lead. WNCC stayed strong, going on a 14-4 run behind four points from Geddes Robinson and seven points Geoffrey Firmin, including a 3-pointer, to push the lead to 74-66.

Robinson later connected on two free throws to give the Cougars a 76-68 lead with just over a minute to play. After that, the Hawks held the Cougars scoreless as Thomas Colbert hit an inside bucket to tie the game at 76-76 with 20 seconds left. After a turnover by the Cougars, Northeast launched a 3-pointer, which bounced off, but WNCC couldn’t come up with rebound and a late shot by Northeast bounced around the rim before falling in as the final buzzer went off.

The Cougars had five players in double figures, led by Cruz and Firmin with 16 points each. Robinson stuck in 15 points, while O’Rion Hughes had 11 and Joe Stock had 10 points.

Northeast was led in scoring by Jayvin Reynolds with 18 points.

WNCC shot 50 percent from the field and 69 percent from the free throw. Northeast shot 45 percent from the field, but 60 percent from beyond the arc. The difference in the game was turnovers, where WNCC committed 18 miscues to Northeast’s 13.

The Cougars will look to get back on the winning side Monday when they host Eastern Wyoming College in the Highway 26 showdown. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.

WNCC (11-8) 38 38 – 76

Northeast (12-8) 40 38 – 78

NORTHEAST NEBRASKA
Jayvin Reynolds 18, Thomas Colbert 11, Zach Towle 11, Kevin Thompson 11, Lakheem Trotter 10, David Taylor 8, Brad Pieper 4, Nicholas Mabbutt 2, Sean Stevens 2.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Geoffrey Firmin 16, Francisco Cruz 16, Geddes Robinson 15, O’Rion Hughes 11, Joe Stock 10, Saul Torres 8.