WNCC men use big second half in win over Lamar

                The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team scored 57 points in the second half in coming back from a halftime deficit to register a huge sub-region win over Lamar Community College 87-72 Friday evening at Cougar Palace.

                The Cougars, who did not make one 3-pointer for the first all year, didn’t need to as they blitzed the nets for 47 percent shooting and converted 33 of 47 free throws.

                WNCC coach Russ Beck said they made some adjustments in the second half and the momentum turned around greatly.

                “Lamar isn’t a team that we wanted to hang around. They have shown they can come back. They have won eight of their last 10 games and came from behind in a few games,” Beck said. “We didn’t want the score to be close in the last five minutes. We made some adjustments of how they were guarding the ball screen and were able to get on a roll.”

                A big key in the win was the play of several players, but Preston Christensen stepped up his game greatly. The freshman finished with a game-high 20 points, including connecting on 14 of 15 free throws.

                “Preston has done a remarkable job coming back from a turf-toe situation and then coming out of his redshirt year late,” Beck said. “He sure has added more depth and more dimension to the guard lineup that we have.”

                WNCC also had three other players hit for double figures. Brandon Morley had a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds, followed by 15 points from Diante Mitchell and 12 points from Tyler Crosbie.

                The first half was 20 minutes where neither team ran away from each other. Lamar led at intermission 32-30.

                The second half was all WNCC as they opened the half on a 9-0 run to lead 37-28. They continued excelling in lead 51-38. Lamar came back to slice the lead to double digits several times, including 65-60. But the Cougars kept the steam going as they finished off the game with an 8-0 run that saw the Cougar players getting a lot of points off of drives to the paint.

                The Cougars, 17-12, will wrap up the regular season today when they face Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. After that they will head to the Region IX tournament that begins March 1.

                “We just want to come out and play our game and play,” Beck said. “We want to get ready for the tournament so we want to be playing our best basketball right know. So, if we cut down on our turnovers a little bit, I think we are close.”

Lamar                    32 40 – 72

WNCC                   30 57 – 87

LAMAR

Bayek Tutlan 3, Curties Redd 8, Chaun Miller 4, Taylor Peterson 3, Theo Brown 11, Aaron Murray 4, Tiwian Kendley 29, Geodice Ortiz 8, Chris Thompson 2.

WNCC

Tyler Crosbie 12, Preston Christensen 20, Youssoupha Kane 4, Diante Mitchell 15, DouDou Gueye 4, Joel Einfeldt 6, Jalen Griffiths 3, Derrick Bowers 6, Brandon Morley 16, Julio Guity 1.

WNCC women pick up 25th win of the season over Lamar

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team’s three sophomores Ashley Stevens, Laurin Rivera, and Shalisa Moffit combined for 48 points and the Cougar women rolled to an easy 98-71 win over Lamar Community College in the team’s last home regular season game.

                It was the Cougars’ 25^th win of the season and their eighth straight victory. WNCC has one regular season game left, today against Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo.

                Friday’s win, however, was huge for a team that seems to be peaking at the right time. Stevens, who led WNCC with 19 points, said their defensive intensity and ability to break a full-court press was huge against a team that was averaging 90 points a game. The Cougars held Lamar to just 27 first-half points.

                “We had to really focus on breaking their press of how chaotic it is during a game,” Stevens said. “This was a good win. I think we are playing where we need to be.”

                What really set the tone of the game, however, was the Cougars ability to break that full-court press with sometimes ease with long outlet passes that resulted in many easy buckets.

                “The big key in this win was breaking their press, and to do that it was just looking up the floor,” Stevens said. “That was the best way to break their press. We had to avoid their trapping and the weak side was always open.”

                Stevens said this game was one that they wanted after how they played down at Lamar.

                “We rebounded really well and our guards pushed the ball up the floor like they needed to,” she said. “The guards just saw the floor and the open players.”

                The Cougars got plenty of fire power from everyone on the team. The three sophomores finished off their home career with impressive numbers with Stevens had 19 points, Rivera with 16 points and four assists, and Moffit with 13 points, three steals and two blocked shots. Stevens said this being their last home game wasn’t a factor, really.

                “The way us sophomores played was a good way to go out,” the Bridgeport native said. “[With us scoring nearly 50 points] I don’t think it was any motivation on us for that to happen. We are just glad that game ended with us top.”

                Abi Lujan also had a big game, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Angela Vigil collected 10 points. The team also got big rebounding games from Allyson Vasquez with eight rebounds, Kaylee Biddell with seven boards, and Lile Havili with six.

                It was also a win that the Cougars opened up midway through the first half. The two teams were slugging it out as WNCC held a slim 15-10 lead 1ith 13:43 to play. That was when the Cougars defensive intensity stepped up as they went on a 10-0 run to lead 25-10. The run was highlighted by five Vigil points.

                After Lamar scored five straight to get back to within 10, WNCC went on another 10-0 run behind the play of Lujan, Vasquez and Lyndie Puckett. WNCC cruised to a 45-27 halftime lead.

                Lamar opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Celina Quayle, but WNCC went on another 10-0 run to lead 55-30 and later pushed the lead to 30 points at 66-36 behind seven straight points from Stevens. WNCC never looked back after that.

Lamar                    27 44 – 71

WNCC                   45 53 – 98

LAMAR

Janey Truitt 5, Gabriela Jimenez 9, Ariel Rosa 4, Allison Gordon 7, Alicia Gallagher 5, Kimi Roth 4, Marquee Strong 2, Ellie Stevens 20, Celina Quayle 7, Khadijah Vigil 8.

WNCC

Allyson Vasquez 5, Laurin Rivera 16, Shalisa Moffit 13, Lyndie Puckett 1, Abi Lujan 15, Angela Vigil 10, Liz Dogan 7, Ashley Stevens 19, Kaylee Biddell 6, Lile Havili 3, Olivia Vogel 3.

WNCC's Agnew inks with Ashford University

                 Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer player Daniel Agnew’s sophomore season was confined to rehabilitating his torn ACL. It was not something he wanted to endure after having an outstanding freshman season in 2012.

                Now, after sitting out last season because of the ACL injury, Agnew is ready to take his game to the next level. Agnew inked Thursday with Ashford University out of Clinton, Iowa, a NAIA institution that has a well-established soccer program that finished last season at 16-4-2 and competed at the national tournament.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said Ashford is a program that is a good fit for Agnew, whose passion for soccer runs deep.

                “We think Dan will be a great asset to Ashford University,” Rasnic said. “Their program is a very strong NAIA program and I think he will go there and contribute. They have made a few appearances in the national tournament the last few years. He will fight for every minute he gets on the field. We are delighted that he is given this opportunity after Western Nebraska.”

                Agnew said he had some options for next year, but he felt Ashford was the right fit for him both academically and athletically.

                “It was a difficult decision but I thought this was the best offer for me,” he said. “Coach Richard Markham has a top soccer program there. They went to the semifinals of nationals last year and it is the right fit for me.”

                Rasnic said even though Agnew couldn’t play because of an ACL injury he suffered in the team’s first pre-season game, he was an asset to the team with his leadership.

                “We will miss Dan next year. He has been a team leader for us through a couple tough years,” Rasnic said. “He has demonstrated with good character and leadership that he is a player that certainly deserves the right to play at the next level. Academically he is outstanding.”

                Agnew, who come to the states from Bellymena, Ireland, said he has adapted well to American soccer.

                “It was a big step in coming here to play at Western Nebraska and it is an even bigger step moving on and I am looking forward to the next step,” he said. “I played at a high level back home so this will be good for me when I go to Ashford because I get to play with a lot of international players at a top level. I will be pushing on with my soccer and I will see where soccer takes me.”

                But, for Agnew, last season was a nightmare where he had to sit and watch has his team struggled through a difficult year. And that was all after Agnew was one of the top defenders in Region IX his freshman year.

                “My freshman year I did well, but unfortunately in my first game of the season I tore my ACL,” he said. “I am looking at this signing in two ways. I know I have three years of eligibility and that is a plus, but obviously it would have been nice to play this year.”

                Agnew said his recovery from the ACL injury is coming along well and hopes to be back to normal by this summer.

                “I have been out of surgery for four months and I am continuing with rehab,” he said. “I am hoping to be back to full fitness by this summer and ready for the preseason at Ashford.”

                What really inspires Agnew to do his best in soccer is his grandpa, Cartney Agnew, who passed away last summer.

                “I want to say a special thank you to my ‘Papa’ who passed away in the summer,” he said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for his advice and interest he took in me when I was at home playing my soccer for Ballymena United Football Club.”

                Agnew said that after his schooling at Ashford, he is hoping that he can continue his soccer playing at the next level.

                “I hope to stay in America and see what happens after Ashford,” he said. “Hopefully I can continue with my soccer and continue growing as a player.”