The Lancers finish the season at 4-20, including wins over Northwest Wyoming and WNCC in the final weeks of the season.
The Cougars will try to put this loss behind them and move into the Region IX tournament that begins Friday in Sheridan, Wyo. The Cougars, 18-12, will face Lamar Community College on Saturday at 8 p.m.
The story of the game was the Lancers second half defense as they held a potent Cougar team to just six points in the first 16 minutes of the second half. EWC trailed 31-28 at intermission and opened the second 20 minutes with a 12-0 run. WNCC didn’t score their first bucket of the first half until the 12:31 mark on a Geddes Robinson bucket.
“I think we played alright in the first half. We held them to 31 points and our emphasis has been on defense all year,” Lancer assistant coach Joel Taylor said. “We held them to 15 points in the second half and that is what we wanted to do defensively.”
The Lancers were sparked by their two sophomores, Lance Korell and Winston Harris, who combined for 28 points and five 3-pointers.
Taylor said the big key to the game was the play of those two sophomores.
“Those two sophomores and Coach [Casey] Jones not being here, we had a lot to play for besides just a basketball game,” he said. “It was sophomore night for two of our guys and Coach Jones is on the road because he didn’t want to be around because he had a hard time with the suspension, so we put those guys above us, and decided to play 40 minutes for the first time this year.”
For the Cougars, it was second half shooting that did the Scottsbluff team in. After shooting 54 percent in the first half, the Cougars shot just 19 percent in the final 20 minutes (6-of-32).
The Cougars played well in the first half leading 14-6 early on two Joe Stock 3-pointers. EWC came back to take a 22-21 lead on a Korell 3-pointer and held a 28-26 lead, WNCC scored the next five points on two free throws by Robinson and a 3-pointer by Francisco Cruz.
Cruz led the team with 14 points followed by Robinson with 13 points.
Taylor said this win is a testament for the seven players on the team that kept battling through the season.
“We knew we were out of the tournament and we known that for a few weeks now,” Taylor said. “The seven that dressed tonight have known that for a while and to their credit they have come to practice every day, worked their tails off, kept their attitude up, and just wanted to finish on a high note. It is great for our two sophomores, Lance and Winston.”
WNCC (18-12) 31 15 46
EWC (4-26) 28 38 66
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Andre Marone 2, ORion Hughes 4, Joe Stock 9, Ritchie Mundende 4, Francisco Cruz 14, Geddes Robinson 13.
EASTERN WYOMING
Fola Adeleke 5, Lance Korell 14, Zach Young 2, Matt Schackow 8, TK Kairys 6, Winston Harris 14, Ivan Simic 17.
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