WNCC men, women captures wins over EWC

               TORRINGTON, Wyo. -- Hauns Brereton poured in 39 points, including two buzzer-beaters in helping the Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team hold off a furious Eastern Wyoming College comeback for a 78-76 win Thursday at EWC’s Verl Petsch Activities Center.

               In the women’s game, the Cougars scored 46 second-half points in opening up a tight game in claiming their 21^st victory of the season with a 78-52 win over the Lancer women.

               The men’s game was a heart-stopper on both sides. The Cougar men played one of their best halves of the season in rolling to a 42-25 halftime lead on a NBA 3-pointer at the buzzer by Brereton.

               “This is the border war and you expect it to be scrappy,” WNCC coach Russ Beck said. “Their team plays really, really hard, and I think they are the hardest playing team in the league. Hauns really had a game, but you have to give his teammates a lot of credit because they were finding Hauns when he was open, and then give Hauns a little bit of credit for having the ability to knock down some shots.”

               In the second half, the Cougars built a 59-39 lead on a Justin Standley falling backwards jumper. That was when the Lancers shifted things into a second gear as the Lancers went on a 20-3 run to cut the deficit to 62-59

               Both teams then traded buckets, or free throws, like two NBA teams. EWC finally tied the game at 70-70 with 3:26 to play on a Matt Rosenbaum bucket, which was the first time the Lancers were tied with the Cougars.

               WNCC responded immediately as Brereton hit a 3-pointer to put WNCC back up by three points. It was short-lived as EWC tied the game once again at 73-73. That was when Brereton hit his second buzzer-beater, this time a 2-pointer as the shot clock was nearing zero.

               The Lancers sliced the lead to a point on two different occasions with under a minute to play, but each time the Cougars made some clutch plays. Mike Peltz hit two clutch free throws with 57 seconds to play. Then the Alliance graduate hit a big free throw with 19.9 seconds left.

               EWC played for the final shot and missed a 10-footer with three seconds left and Raul Delgado grabbed the rebound for the win.

               The Cougars blistered the nets for 54 percent shooting, including going 8 of 13 from the 3-point line. The Lancers shot 46 percent for the game, 62 percent in the second half. The Lancers were 24 of 32 from the free throw line while WNCC was 8 of 16 as there were a combined 46 fouls were called, with 29 called on EWC.

               WNCC had two players in double figures. Brereton’s 39 led all players while Peltz had 10 points. Brereton finished with five 3-pointers.

               Rosenbaum paced the Lancers with 17 points followed by Jordan Johnson with 16 points. Also getting double digits were Jarett Upchurch with 14 and Ivan Simic with 10.

               In the women’s game, the Lancers and Cougars were in a tussle as the Lancers grabbed a 21-17 lead on a Krystal Pittman driving, under-the-basket lay-up. WNCC came back in the first half as Lisa Durden and Kyra Peterson each connected on 3-pointers. Then, Shelby Campbell got a last second steal and lay-up to put WNCC up 32-29 had intermission.

               After WNCC built a 43-19 lead, the Lancers went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to seven points, 43-36. WNCC then put the game away, going on a 18-0 run to go up 61-36. During that span, the Cougars held the Lancers scoreless for six minutes.

               WNCC had four players finish in double figures. ChaCha Ofoegbu and Shelby Campbell each finished with 13 points, while Peterson had 11 and Samantha Sanders had 10 points.

               EWC Pittman finished with 19 points for the Lancers, including 9 of 11 from the free throw line. Jayde Schelling also chipped in 15 points, including four 3-pointers.

Women’s game

WNCC (21-2)                     32 46 – 78

EWC                                    29 23 – 52

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Samantha Sanders 10, Ashley Soucie 2, Shelby Campbell 13, Tiffany Moorer 4, Kyra Peterson 11, ChaCha Ofoegbu 13, Leona Garrett 5, Thais Pinto 6, Carolina Alves 7.

EASTERN WYOMING

Krsytal Pittman 19, Jayde Schelling 15, Kristine Hilger 2, Shauri Lyon 3, Jubilee Sutherland 2, Hannah Earley 9, Sarah Smith 2,

Men’s Game

WNCC (13-10)                   42 36 – 78

EWC                                    25 51 – 76

WESTERN NEBRASKA
Mike Peltz 10, Joe Stock 6, Stephen Shepherd 2, Justin Standley  6, Hauns Brereton 39, Aamir kelliehan 4, Marko Kovacevic 4, Preston Eaton 7.

EASTERN WYOMING

Jordan Johnson 16, Jarett Upchurch 14, Zachery Young 6, Matt Schackow 5, Tautvydas Kairys 3, Chad Cottom 2, David Hazzard 3, Matt Rosenbaum 17, Ivan Simic 10.

WNCC women pick up 20th win of the season

                 The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put five players in double figures in picking up their 20^th win of the season with an 88-56 win over Lamar Community College Wednesday at Cougar Palace.

                Samantha Sanders, who had one of her best shooting games of the season with 12 points on 71 percent shooting, said it wasn’t a perfect game for the No. 19 Cougars, but it was a win that they needed after falling to Northeastern Junior College on Saturday.

                “We didn’t play our best, and we still have things we need to work on,” the freshman from Denver said. “Tonight we kind of didn’t get it done, but tomorrow [Thursday] we have a big game and it is another chance for us to go out there and do what we need to do.”

                The first time the two squads faced each other earlier in January, Lamar gave the Cougars fits at the beginning. The same thing this game as the Runnin’ Lopes ran out to a 10-5 lead and led 20-18 with 10 minutes left in the first half.

                “We had a problem with them before when they pressed us, but when we get the ball out go, we are just so much more deadlier,” Sanders said. “We just work well together getting the ball up the court and getting the fast break. That is what coach wants us to do.”
                Trailing 20-18, the Cougars would change the momentum in a heartbeat, going on a 19-0 run over a six minute span. During the crucial run, Kyra Peterson hit a 3-pointer and Leona Garrett score six points while Carolina Alves had four points. Lisa Durden also hit four straight technical free throws to push the lead to 37-20. WNCC went on to lead 43-23 at intermission.

                Lamar came back in the second half and tried making a game of it, cutting the 20-point halftime lead to 13 points, 56-43 on two three pointers by Stephanie Russak with 12 minutes to play. WNCC shifted the contest into another level, going on a 13-0 run that was highlighted by eight points by Shelby Campbell and five points from Thais Pinto for a 69-43 lead.

                Lamar never got closer than 19 points the rest of the game and that was due to the Cougar’s bench, who outscored the Runnin’ Lopes 38-16, lead by Garrett and Kyra Peterson with 10 points each.

                WNCC received a good scoring balance. Campbell paced the team with 14 points followed by ChaCha Ofoegbu with 13, and Sanders with 12.

                The Cougars also shared the ball well, finishing with 21 assists, led by Sanders with five and Scottsbluff’s DaNae Quijas with four. WNCC also out-rebounded Lamar 55-28 behind Tiffany Moorer’s eight boards, Pinto’s seven and Campbell’s six.

                Sanders said it was nice to get five players in double figures and get things spread out among the team.

                “This is very good balance because we don’t get that many players in double figures,” she said. “It was a good win tonight. I think we all played hard the whole game.”

                WNCC, 20-2, will get right back into action Thursday when they head to Eastern Wyoming College for a men’s and women’s doubleheader. The women’s game tips off at 5:30 p.m.

                “It is a big game, especially since it is at their house,” Sanders said. “We have to take every game like we need it. We need all the wins that we can get .”

Lamar  (10-12)                   23 33 – 56

WNCC (20-2)                      43 45 – 88

LAMAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Stephanie Russak 8, Breanna Garduno 3, Michelle Price 8, Erika Baca 12, Sarah Leister 2, Ashley Torres 3, Vertashia Dean 10, Brandi Charles 7, T’Aundra Wright 3.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Samantha Sanders 12, Ashley Soucie 5, Shelby Campbell 14, Tiffany Moorer 4, Lisa Durden 4, Kyra Peterson 10, ChaCha Ofoegbu 13, Jasmine Shaffer 2, Leona Garrett 10, Thais Pinto 7, Carolina Alves 7.

               

WNCC men pick up win against North Platte

                 The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team still kept its goal of hosting the Region IX tournament alive after posting an 82-76 sub-region win over North Platte Community College on Tuesday at Cougar Palace.

                The Cougars received a double-double from Marko Kovacevic of 13 points and 12 rebounds, and received 23 points from Hauns Brereton in recording their 12^th win of the season and pushing their sub-region record to 2-1. North Platte drops to 0-3 in the sub-region despite getting 22 points from their only sophomore on the court Karol Gruszecki.

                “I am happy, but I am a little bit greedy. We had them down 12 points early in the first half and just let them back into the game by giving up some offensive rebounds,” WNCC coach Russ Beck said. “But, we hit 70 percent from the free throw line and we only turned it over seven times, and we did out rebound them but only by one, but we will take it.

                “We didn’t play great, but we will have to play with a lot of energy when we go play at EWC on Thursday. They play as hard as any team within Region IX.”

                The Cougars played well early in the game, vaulting to a 34-22 lead with 6:50 to play in the first half on a Preston Eaton 3-pointer. The Knights, though, came storming back with six straight points to slice the lead to 34-28.

                WNCC built the lead back to double-digits, 42-30, with under two minutes to play before the Knights scored the last six points of the half to trail 42-36 at intermission.

                WNCC kept the lead to nine to 10 points through most of the second half. WNCC led by as much as 12 points on a Joe Stock 3-pointer at 56-44. With 10:40 to play, the Cougars led 65-55. That was the last time the Cougars would be up by double digits as the Knights came back, slicing the lead to three points, 69-66, on a Greg Francisco bucket with 5:17 to play.

                North Platte kept fighting, as they trailed by three points, 75-72, with two minutes to play on two Gruszecki free throws. Brereton, though, hit a clutch 3-pointer with 90 seconds to play followed by a big bucket by Aaron Turner to put the Cougars up by six with 30 seconds left.

                The Cougars picked up the crucial sub-region win by hitting clutch free throws when they needed, going 6-for-6 after the Knights closed the gap to 69-66.

                “Margin of victory is important when it comes down to hosting the tournament,” he said. “I just wanted our guys to be aggressive and we lost a little bit of our tenacity in a certain stretch. Yeah, we were running the clock down a little bit, but that was just the teeter-totter, where we were working the clock but we didn’t want to lose our aggressiveness. It was good that Hauns hit a big shot. It was a shot that not many of us were expecting, but he had the poise to score.”

                North Platte outshot the Cougars from the field 50 percent to 43 percent, but the big difference was 3-point shooting where the Cougars nailed seven treys compared to just two for the Knights. Joe Stock buried three long balls, while Raul Delgado had two treys.

                WNCC had four players in double figures. After Brereton’s 23 points, Stock finished with 14 points, Kovacevic had 13 and Mike Peltz had 10. North Platted also had four players in double figures. After Gruszecki’s 22 points, Nick Tomsick had 12 points, while Kamal Thomas and Igor LeBov each had 10 points.

                Next action for the Cougar men will be Thursday night when they travel to Eastern Wyoming College for a 7:30 p.m.

                Next action at Cougar Palace will be Wednesday when Cougar women will host Lamar Community College beginning at 5:30 .

North Platte (9-12)                          36 40 – 76

WNCC (12-10)                                    42 40 – 82

NORTH PLATTE

Kamal Thomas 10, Nick Tomsixk 12, Eric Turner 6, Perrin Ashley 2, Igor LeBov 10, Darian Davis 5, Mark Nichols 2, Karol Gruszecki 22, Greg Francisco 7.

WNCC

Mike Peltz 10, Preston Eaton 3, Justin Standley 2, Joe Stock 14, Stephen Shepherd 3, Justin Omogun 4, Hauns Brereton 23, Raul Delgado 7, Aamir Kelliehan 1, Marko Kovacevic 13, Aaron Turner 2.

WNCC and North Platte battle on Tuesday

The Western Nebraska Community College men are in a must-win situation when they host North Platte Community College on Tuesday if they have hopes of hosting the Region IX tournament in March.

                The Cougar men, who pushed their record to 11-10, host a Knight squad that is 9-11 on the season. More importantly, the Cougars are just 1-1 in sub-region play while the Knights are 0-2. Both teams trail Northeast (Neb.) Community College, who is 3-0 in sub-region play.

                Tip-off for Tuesday’s contest is slated for 7:30 p.m. The winner of the sub-region will host the Region IX tournament which begins the first weekend in March.

                “It is the biggest game of the year because it is the game that is right in front of us,” WNCC coach Russ Beck said. “Hopefully, as we take the one game approach to things, we then can accomplish our overall goals.”

                For the Cougars, they are still in good position, but they have to take care of business the rest of the way out after suffering a loss to Northeast Nebraska on 84-66 on Jan. 22. Since then, the Cougars have won their last two games, topping a good McCook squad 105-88 and then won a heart-stopper on Saturday against Northeastern Junior College 69-68.

“Every game down the stretch is important,” Beck said. “We have to use the non sub-region games to prepare us and help us get better for the sub-region games. So, our remaining games against Casper, Otero, NJC, and EWC, we need to get better. We are chasing Northeast a little bit, but we are still in control of our own destiny at this points. We just need to win out in the sub-region in a fashion that will give a chance to host the tournament.”
                Tuesday’s contest won’t be an easy contest. North Platte, who won the Region IX tournament a year ago, has dropped it’s only two sub-region contests of the season, falling to McCook 129-104 and then losing to Northeast Nebraska on Friday 68-52.

“North Platte won the sub-region last year and got to the national tournament,” Beck said. “They don’t have many returners form that team because they lost 10 sophomores, but they have Karol Gruszewski. He is a good player who is averaging over 22 points a game.

“North Platte is a lot like us in the fact that they are relatively young. They have good players and they are capable of getting a win.  They are going to be up for it. It is a sub-region game, a rivalry game, and all of us are fighting for the same thing in trying to host the tournament.
                Northeast leads the sub-region with a 3-0 mark and 17-6 overall after stopping McCook 84-80 on Saturday. All of Northeast’s sub-region wins came on the road.

After Tuesday’s contest, the Cougar men will travel to Eastern Wyoming College on Thursday.

NOTES:

Tuesday’s home game will also be Family Night, where every family member that comes dressed in Cougar apparel will get in for just $1 per family member. Also, Wednesday’s women’s contest between the Cougars and Lamar Community College will be Senior Citizen Day, where the first 50 seniors will receive a free popcorn and drink. Tip-off for the game is slated for 5:30 p.m.

Region IX Men’s Standings

Team                                                     Overall                 Sub-Region

East Sub-region

Northeast Nebraska                       17-6                       3-0

WNCC                                                   11-10                     1-1

McCook                                                12-10                     1-2

North Platte                                       9-11                       0-2

South Sub-region

Lamar CC                                             17-4                       3-0

NE Colorado                                       12-9                       2-0

Trinidad State                                   11-10                     0-1

Otero JC                                               14-9                       0-2

Laramie County                                9-11                       0-2

Central Sub-region

Western Wyoming                          13-8                       4-0

Casper                                                  17-6                       4-1

Gillette                                                18-5                       3-2

Central Wyoming                            14-9                       1-3

Eastern Wyojming                           4-17                       0-6

North Sub-region

Sheridan                                              17-5                       4-0

Northwest Wyoming                     12-8                       3-1

Dawson                                                11-9                       2-2

Miles City                                            11-9                       2-3

Little Big Horn                                   3-17                       0-5

WNCC men register 1-point win over NJC on the road

STERLING, Colo. – Hauns Brereton got a block and rebound with five seconds to play to help the Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team earn a thrilling 69-68 win over the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen.
                The win pushed the Cougar men’s record to 11-10, but more importantly, the men’s team picked up the signature win in a tough environment.
                WNCC coach Russ Beck said this is a monumental win for the team, but it is just one win in several more the team is trying to pick up.
                “NJC is a hard place to play. They have the leading scorer in the country, so it was a big road win for us,” he said. “The kids are happy, but it is just one win. We want to host the tournament so we are going to take these sub-region games against North Platte, McCook and Northeast down the stretch.”

What won the game for the Cougars was their defensive tenacity. WNCC out-rebounded the Plainsmen 48-39, and they held one of the nation’s top scorers in Widget Washington to just 22 pionts on 8 of 19 shooting.

“Defensively, we hunkered down and got stops,” Beck said. “I am starting to have a little bit more confidence as the coach of this team with our man-to-man defense. We are doing a better job of keeping the ball out of the middle of the floor, which is key for us. We hung in there. They made a couple of runs and we responded.”

WNCC held a 12-9 lead early in the first half before the Plainsmen went up 18-12 and later 33-24. WNCC kept fighting cutting the lead to 38-34 on a Brereton bucket. Moments later, Brereton hit the biggest bucket of the night as he drained a 3-pointer as the halftime buzzer went off to pull the Cougars to within 40-37.

WNCC came out in the second half n plenty of energy, taking a 44-43 lead behind a bucket by Mike Peltz and two buckets by Marko Kovacevic. NJC came back to take a 54-48 lead on a Austin Maag 3-pointer.

The Cougar men battled back to cut the lead to one point on several occasions, including 64-63 on a Justin Standley bucket with three minutes to play. NJC went back up 66-63 before WNCC took their the lead with 2:27 to play on a Brereton driving bucket and two free throws by Joe Stock at 67-66.

Brereton put the Cougars up 69-66 with two free throws with 57 seconds to play. Washington then hit two free throws with 47.9 seconds to play to slice the lead to a single digit. NJC then had a chance to win the game on a last second shot, but Brereton came up with the block and rebound and threw the ball down the court to preserve the win.

Brereton led all scorers with 23 points. The sophomore also pulled down 10 rebounds and was 10 of 13 from the free throw line. Three other Cougars finished with seven points each including Kovacevic, Joe Stock and Justin Standley.

WNCC, 11-10, will look for there third straight win on Tuesday when they host North Platte Community College in a sub-region contest beginning at 7:30 p.m.

“We want to keep the magic, keep the hope alive a little bit,” Beck said. “Hopefully, we can get another win against North Platte.”

WNCC                   37 32 -- 69           
NJC                        40 28 --- 68
NORTHEASTERN JUNIOR COLLEGE
Ray Riley 7, Kameron Pearce 16, Melvin Washington 4, Widgett Washington 22, BJ Dundar 7, Tyrell Williams 6, James Stukes 1, Austin Maag 5.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Brady Mason 2, Mike Peltz 2, Preston Eaton 2, Justin Standley 7, Joe Stock7, Stephen Shepherd 5, Hauns Brereton 23, Raul Delgado 6, Aamir Kelliehan 2, Aaron Turner 6, Marko Kovacevic 7.

WNCC women fall to NJC for second defeat of year

                STERLING, Colo. --  In a battle of top 25 teams, it was the No. 21 Northeastern Junior College women getting the better of the No. 13 Western Nebraska Community College Saturday night 73-64.

               The Plainswomen, in picking up the win, converted on 7 of 14 3-point shots and shot 40 percent from the field.

               Freshman Leona Garrett, who finished with a game-high 10 points, said they just made too many mistakes.

               “We played well, we just made a lot of mistakes,” the freshman said. “Next game against them, we need to not turn the ball over so much and not foul as much.”

               The Cougars did play well, but for most of the game, they couldn’t get a call to go their way as the Plainswomen took the momentum halfway through the first half and ran with it.

               The beginning of the first half, though, was a battle between the NJCAA ranked teams. NJC grabbed a 16-7 lead on a bucket by Hannah Pollert. WNCC fought back tying the contest at 21-21 on 3-pointers by Leona Garrett and Kyra Peterson. NJC retook the lead on a trey by Lynnae Cox and then went on an 8-0 run to lead 32-23. NJC took a 43-33 lead into the locker room on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Adaugo Osuale.

               WNCC came out in the second half and made a game of it. After NJC took a 48-35 lead, the Cougars sliced the lead to five points, 55-50 as Thais Pinto collected six points and Peterson and Garrett each had a bucket.

               The Cougars got even closer at 56-52 on two Garrett free throws with 10 minutes to play. NJC, though, went on a 7-0 run to push the lead back to nine points at 63-52.

               Trailing by 12, 67-55 with five minutes to play, WNCC tried to make a last drive over the next three minutes cutting the lead to eight points at 67-59. But, that was a close as they could get in suffering their second defeat on the season.

               NJC shot 40.4 percent from the field and were 20 of 30 from the free throw line. The Cougars, on the other hand, were 39 percent from the field and 16 of 28 from the free throw line.

               NJC was led by Alicia Nichols with 17 points followed by Lynnae Cox with 13 and Morgan Fox with 11 points. Nichols hit on five 3-pointers.

               WNCC was paced by Garrett and Shelby Campbell with 10 points each. Both players also led the team in rebounding with six boards each.

               The Cougars will next be in action Wednesday when they host Lamar Community College at 5:30 p.m.

WNCC (19-2)                     33 31 -- 64

NJC                                      43 30 -- 73

NORTHEASTERN COLORADO

Adaugo Osuala 9, Lynnae Cox 13, Ashley North 6, Alicia Nichols 17, Morgan Fox 11, Hannah Pollart 8, Maty Diallo 9.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Samantha Sanders 7, Shelby Campbell 10, Tiffany Moorer 4, Lisa Durden 4, Kyra Peterson 9, ChaCha Ofoegbl 8, Leona Garrett 10, Thais Pinto 8, Carolina Alves 4.

WNCC's Guadarrama goes from soccer to boxing

 

            Western Nebraska Community College sophomore Chris Guadarrama has always had a passion to try boxing. Shortly after the Cougar men’s soccer team ended, Guadarrama put on the gloves and started training for his first amateur fight in Rapid City, S.D., back in December.

            Guadarrama came out of the fight as a victor, topping his opponent 30-28. His opponent had experience having fought seven times previously.

            The Gering High graduate said he will continue boxing as his next fight is scheduled in the coming months. Guadarrama also helps out at the Guadalupe Boxing Club, working with youngsters.

Q: Were you surprised to get the win in your first boxing match and how do you feel about getting that first win?

A: Well, I felt I lost the fight and I even told the ref “man I should of done better.” Then the ref said, “I think you did all you could.” But, it felt really good to win it, because I don’t like losing. I do accept defeat, but I went in there having that winning attitude. This win felt really good to me too because my opponent had seven fights before me. For me to fight against someone who had more experience than me and beating him, I couldn’t believe it .The first win is always the best. I feel it will establish my career and will give me the confidence I need in my next fights.

Q: Was boxing in that first match what you though it was going to be?
A: Actually no. I thought he was going to take me to school. He had experience and I thought that was an advantage for him. I kept thinking before we fought, “I’m I really ready for this fight?” I kept looking at him and thought, “I feel ready. I think I can take him.” And when we got in the ring, it really surprised me how I was dominating the fight instead of him. He even out-weighed me by 6 pounds. So the fight was a big surprise to me. I didn’t expect to come out with the “W.”

Q: What was the hardest part for you in the fight?
A: The hardest part for me was, of course, hurting my opponent. People back home know me as a nice kid, the type of kid who wouldn’t hurt anyone. So for me to go in there and hurt someone was the hardest thing. [WNCC soccer coach Todd] Rasnic tells me the next day after the fight, “Did you tell the guy you were sorry.” I laughed and said, “Nope coach not this time, but I was considering it.” That’s what this sport is about though, hurting each other until someone gives up or loses by the boxing judges deciding the outcome. I didn’t mean to hurt him if I did, but that’s the name of the game.”

Q: What was the reason why you won?
A: The reason I won was because of my coach (Javier Conde), my teammates, and some of the local parents who traveled to watch. If it wasn’t for the training and preparation my coach taught me I wouldn’t have been able to do it. And hearing the cheers and screams from the fans, teammates and our coach, it makes you want to go knock out the guy or win at all costs. Another reason I felt I won was I never gave up even when the tide turned at times during the match. I worked my way out of jams and kept pushing to the end.

Q: What kind of training did you go through for this first fight?
A: Training consisted of a routine. Monday, Wednesday and Friday were the days that we trained. I like to start off with a light jog, at least one mile or two. After that, I have a list which consists of four rounds of jumping jacks at 2 minutes, squats for four rounds at 2 minutes, 300 crunches sometimes I aim for at least 500, and at least 100-150 push-ups. Once that is all done, I hit the punching bags, speed bags, and mitts for 3 rounds at 2 minutes each.”

Q: What are your future plans for boxing?
A: I would like to keep boxing for as long as I can. I think I want to stay amateur for least a couple of years, before I ever decide to go pro. I still have a lot to learn. My heart really wants to keep playing soccer because that’s the sport I really want to make pro at. But, as for boxing, it’s something I always liked and I want to keep doing. It is a sport to keep me in shape and keep doing for fun. But, I’m not saying I would ever consider going pro for boxing.

Q: Why did you decide to box and have you boxed before this year?
A: Well, my inspiration came from my best friend in high school, Vincent Lopez. When we were in high school he boxed and he always wanted me to join it, but I was always busy training for soccer. He did great. I think he had five fight and won them all. He still fights, but he is currently serving in the Marines. It’s funny I talked to him and told him, “Look at what you got me into.” He laughed and I told him, “I would try to make him proud.” We would watch pro fights on TV and I think that also played a key into my decision to fight. My boxing idol or the one whose boxing style I loved to watch was Oscar De La Hoya. His never-give-up-attitude and the struggles he went through to make it professional really inspires me and gives me hope that one day I can make in the professional business. I really didn’t think I was going to fight anyone. I trained in the summer so I could be in shape for my last season with the Cougar men’s soccer team this last fall. I never fought in the summer because there were no fights available, but I trained a lot and it showed on the soccer field. I’m really glad I did this sport, I have no regrets.

Q:  Is there anything else you want to say about your boxing career?
A: I would just like to say thank you to my family and everyone who supported me through boxing and soccer, and it really means a lot without all of them. I couldn’t have done it without them. I would also like to thank all of the coach’s (Rasnic, [[Justin] Clark, and Conde) for always having confidence in me and making me into the athlete and person I am today. And, to my teammates who I have had the pleasure to play alongside, you guys were the best and I wish the best for all you.

WNCC men post win over McCook

                The East sub-region just got a little bit tighter Tuesday evening after the Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team played a complete game from start to finish in topping McCook Community College 105-88 Tuesday at Cougar Palace.

                The Cougar, who evened their record at 10-10 and pushed their sub-region mark to 1-1, won the contest by putting four players in double figures and out-rebounding a talented McCook squad 55-26.

                Marko Kovacevic made a huge impact in the middle, finishing with a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Hauns Brereton paced the Cougars with 27 points followed by Mike Peltz with 16 and Justin Omogun with 14 points.

                WNCC coach Russ Beck said this is the championship team that he has seen first semester when they the Cougars bolted to an 8-1 mark in November.

                “I had only seen that team play once this season and that was when we beat CSI,” Beck said. “Tonight we played physical and we played together. We had three main goals. We wanted to limit our opponents to 10 or less offensive rebounds, limit our turnovers to under 15, and we wanted to shoot 75 percent from the free throw line. We got all three of those goals. We had 13 turnovers, we were 76 percent from the free throw line, and we dominated on the boards tonight 55-26. McCook is a good ball club.”

                The win was much needed for the Cougars, who stopped a four-game losing skid. And they stopped the slide against a talented McCook team that has scored 257 points in their last two wins over North Platte Community College and William Penn junior varsity.

                “It is only one game and we reminded ourselves about that in the locker room after the game. We want to see this same team perform from game to game,” Beck said. “McCook is a team that really will run and gun. But, tonight, we wanted to keep them out of the paint. They are very athletic and have quick little guards that can get to the paint and create. If you saw the substitution pattern tonight, if you got beat to the middle, you were coming out of the game.”

                The first half was a slugfest as two high-scoring offenses went toe-to-toe. McCook grabbed a 34-32 lead with 5:38 left in the first half on a Michael Cutright 3-pointer. After that, the Cougars turned up the juice, going on a 11-0 run that was started by back-to-back buckets by Hauns Brereton. Mike Peltz then got into the scoring as he scored his first points of the game on back-to-back buckets. WNCC went on to lead 44-35 at halftime.

                The second half was tight early on as McCook cut the lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Darius Robinson with just three minutes gone in the half. WNCC turned the tide quickly as Joe Stock and Brereton each hit buckets and Kovacevic and Omogun each hammered home dunks to push the lead to 67-54.

                The Indians kept fighting as they sliced the lead to nine points, 75=84 on a Shawn Tarver bucket.  Kovacevic changed the momentum a few minutes later as he had a huge dunk with three minutes to play to give the Cougars a 93-80 lead. The Cougars then hit free throws down the stretch to pick up the win.

                WNCC will next be in action Saturday when they travel to Sterling, Colo., to face Northeastern Junior College. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.

McCook (12-9)                  35 53 – 88

WNCC (10-10)                    44 61 – 105

MCCOOK

Darius Robinson 31, Michael Cutright 18, George Pollard 8, Onyema Uti 5, Eric Cutright 8, Marquis Buleson 2, Shawn Tarver 13, Martin Minaric 3.

WNCC
Mike Peltz 16, Preston Eaton 6, Justin Standley 4, Joe Stock 9, Justin Omogun 14, Stephen Shepherd 2, Hauns Brereton 27, Raul Delgado 8, Brady Mason 8, Marko Kovacevic 11.

WNCC women topple McCook 88-29

                The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team received a 20-point performance from Kyra Peterson and the Cougar ladies blew out McCook Community College 88-29 in a East Sub-region contest Tuesday evening at Cougar Palace.

                The No. 11 Cougars, in picking up their 19^th win of the season, put together a complete game from start to finish and left little doubt after the opening three minutes of the contest of who was going to win the contest.

                “I thought early on we made a statement by getting on them by 20 or 25,” WNCC coach Dave Harnish said. “That is what you have to do playing at home or playing on the road. We jumped on them and stayed on it and that is something that we haven’t been doing. Tonight I thought we continued to build the lead and continued to play hard. “
                The Cougars definitely showed a different team on the court then on Saturday against Northeast Community College, and it wasn’t just one player either that contributed. The Cougars bench outscored McCook 53-5. The bench was another area that pleased Harnish.

                “I was frustrated that we couldn’t go deep with our bench in past games. Tonight was different,” he said. “Two or three other girls are coming up and playing a little bit harder coming off the bench and that is helping us. It is key for our bench to be successful if we want to play at a fast tempo.”

                The Cougars quickly built an 8-0 lead four minutes into the contest. The lead grew to 38-9 on two Peterson 3-pointers. Lisa Durden then cashed in two 3-pointers to push the lead to 39-12 as the Cougars held a commanding 50-17 lead at halftime.

                WNCC’s defense was even more stellar in the second half, holding McCook to just 12 points. WNCC’s offense was also clicking on all cylinders, going on a 24-0 run over a 11 minute period. During the run was capped by back-to-back buckets by Ashley Soucie, who finished with eight points and six rebounds in just 10 minutes on the court.

                “I think we did a good job all night long defensively,” Harnish said. “I think we are pushing it up a little bit better and using our athleticism better than we did a week or two ago. We played a better complete game tonight. I think when you have the intensity level and you are mentally ready to go, you shoot better. We shot better from the outside and anytime you can shoot well from the perimeter, it will help our inside game. It gave us good balance inside and out.”

                WNCC had just two players finish in double figures, led by Peterson’s 20 points. Carolina Alves chipped in 11 points. Shelby Campbell, Thais Pinto each had nine points, while Soucie finished with eight points. Campbell also paced the team with eight rebounds, followed by Darachia Johnson with 7.

                WNCC< 19-1, will return to action on Saturday when they face Northeastern Junior College at Sterling, Colo. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.

                “It is a big game and NJC is a good team,” Harnish said. “Last time we went on the road we went to Casper and didn’t play well. It is important that we go and play a good team on their home court. I think we are going in there with some confidence and hopefully we will play well Saturday.”

McCook (16-6)                  17 12 – 29

WNCC (19-1)                      50 38 – 88

MCCOOK

Porsche Shakes 5, Kat Harley 6, Claudia Ortega 1, Elle Hiester 2, Davina Jefferson 4, Jacqueline Lovato 4, Whitley Jenkins 2, Alayna White 2.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Samantha Sanders 5, Ashley Soucie 8, Shelby Campbell 9, DaNae Quijas 2, Tiffany Moorer 4, Lisa Durden 6, Kyra Peterson 20, ChaCha Ofoegby 6, Darachia Johnson 2, Leona Garrett 6, Thais Pinto 9, Carolina Alves 11.