Bruins hand MCC Men 80-74 setback
PARADISE, Nevada. – The McCook Community College men wrapped up the first half of the season Friday Night with an 80-74 loss to Salt Lake Community College in the final game of the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic.
“This was a tough game for us tonight. A back-to-back after taking the No. 1 team in the country to overtime the night before is always going to be tough,” said MCC Assistant Coach Drake Henderson. “But once again, our guys played really hard. Salt Lake has a really talented wing who hit some big-time shots tonight.”
Salt Lake freshman Lantz Stephenson went for a season-high 29 points. He made 11 of 19 shots from the field, went five-for-10 from the 3-point line and had seven rebounds. In just his seventh game of the season Stephenson is averaging 20.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
The Indians got off to a 15-8 lead in the first 4:52 of the game. Salt Lake CC chipped away and tied the game at 21-21 with 10:52 remaining in the first half. Tied at 29 with 5:15 to go until intermission the Badgers outscored MCC 10-4 over a 4:13 span and led at the mid-point of the game 39-35.
SLCC stretched the lead to 51-41 with 16:16 left to play to give them their largest lead of the game and the Bruins were able to fend of the Indians the rest of the way.
“We knew this trip was going to be probably the toughest two-game stretch of our season, and our guys showed heart,” said Henderson. “The outcome isn’t what we wanted but I think this is the most together we have played all year.
MCC shot 44.6 percent for the game and made four of 13 shots from distance (30.8 percent) and made 12 of 15 free throws (80 percent). The Indians scored 46 points in the paint compared to 22 for the Bruins. Both teams had 41 rebounds.
Freshman Djibril Diawara (Aulnay-sous-Bois, France) led MCC with 20 points, with a four-for-10 night from the 3-point line along with a team-high five assists. Sophomore Nate Coley, (Little Rock, Ark.) scored 17 points which included a seven-for-eight night from the free-throw line.
Sophomore Mo Diao, (Darkar, Senegal) chipped in 14 points and led MCC with 10 rebounds. Freshman Alier Alier (Bor, South Sudan) scored 10 points with six boards. Sophomore Lukas Gudavicius, (Palanga, Lithuania) scored eight points, had four steals and four rebounds.
SLCC shot 40.6 from the field, made 13 of 32 triples (40.6 percent), and connected on 11 of 14 free throw attempts (78.6 percent). Makuei Riek scored 13 points and Nick Jefferson dished out 11 assists with 11 points
“We continue to get better every single day, and it’s the perfect time with league play right around the corner,” said Henderson. “I really like where we’re at as a team, and where we’re headed.”
Salt Lake goes to 7-7, losing Thursday in their first game in the Tarkanian Classic to No. 11 South Plains College, 81-74. Four of SLCC’s losses have come to teams ranked in the Top 20.
MCC finishes out the fall semester at 10-6.
“We’re excited to get into league play and I think we’re going to make some noise,” said Henderson. “We’re going to enjoy this little break for Christmas and New Years and then come back and go to work.”
The Indians will have a three-week break before the Region IX schedule begins. MCC will host North Platte Community College Jan. 10 as part of a women’s/men’s Saturday matinee doubleheader. The Lady Indians tip off at 2 p.m. and the men’s game will follow at approximately 4 p.m.
“We have a really good North Platte team first game back so we’re going to be sure we’re ready to go,” said Henderson.
MCC will begin Region IX play with the best record among the eight South Division teams in the non-conference portion of the season.
REGION IX SOUTH RECORDS
THROUGH NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
W - L PCT.
McCook CC 10-6 .625
Southeast 8-6 .571
Northeastern JC 7-6 .538
North Platte 8-7 .583
Trinidad State 6-8 .429
Lamar 6-9 .400
Western Nebraska 3-10 .231
Otero College 0-12 .000
Up-to-date information about MCC men’s basketball including livestream links for home games, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com