MCC loses to No. 1 Badgers in overtime

PARADISE, Nevada. – Top-ranked Snow College outlasted the McCook Community College men in a 96-91 overtime win Thursday to open the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic.

MCC took an 87-86 lead with 1:32 left in overtime on a 3-pointer from freshman Djibril Diawara (Aulnay-sous-Bois, France). Snow College outscored the Indians 10-4 down the stretch as McCaden Adams made a layup with 1:00 left. He grabbed a defensive rebound and put the game away, making all six of his free throws in the final 26 seconds. He led Snow with 32 points added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

“Ultimately the ball just didn’t bounce our way in overtime. This game was another national-tournament type atmosphere,” said MCC Assistant Drake Henderson. “I think we’ve proved we can compete with these teams, but now we need to prove we can win in these games.”

It was Adams who scored the final bucket of regulation with 27 seconds left to help keep the Badgers’ undefeated record alive.

Sophomore Mo Diao, (sophomore, Darkar, Senegal) provided the scoring muscle with 14 points to lead punch in the first half with 24 of MCC’s 31 first-half points coming from the paint. The Indians failed on all six of their 3-point attempts in the second half.

Snow entered the game averaging 96.2 points per game which is 10th in the nation, they were sixth in field goal percentage (53.3) and fifth in 3-point shooting (41.0 percent). MCC held the Badgers to 36.1 shooting in the first half and 27.3 from the 3-point line on 22 shots.

“I’d probably say that that game was one of Snow’s worst shooting games,” said Henderson.

After taking over the No. 1 spot in the latest NJCAA rankings Monday, Snow College led MCC at the half 38-31.

MCC shot 40 percent from the field in the first half but went to the frontcourt muscle to help fuel the second-half comeback, going to the paint for the first eight points of the second half and tying the game at 38-38 just 1:42 into the half.

The Indians went on a 14-2 burst to start the second half capped by a 3-pointer by Diawara to give MCC their largest lead of the game 45-40 at the 15:40 mark of the second half.

The Indians outscored Snow 46-39 in the second half, but neither team was able to lead by more than four points over the final 11:49 of the game. Snow took a 51-46 lead with an Adams fastbreak dunk at the 11:56 mark to put the Badgers up 51-46.

MCC responded with a run led by redshirt freshman Alier Alier (Bor, South Sudan) who hit a layup in the paint and made a free-throw on a foul. He tied the game 51-51 with another layup at the 11:33 mark. He and Diao scored MCC’s next six points to keep the game at 57-57 with 8:38 left to play.

“We’re really proud of our effort today. Snow is No. 1 in the country for a reason,” said Henderson. “They’re very talented and give you no room for error. Our guys executed the game plan perfectly.”

Snow shot 52 percent from the field in the second half. MCC held the Badgers to seven attempts from the 3-point arc who made four of seven (57.1 percent). The Indians shot 53.8 percent in the second half.

Diao led MCC with 30 points, along with six rebounds. He entered the game ranked sixth in the nation in blocked shots and added two more Thursday to give him 38 for the season.

Alier had 17 points and led MCC with seven rebounds. He also went seven-for-seven from the line.

Dijbril scored 17 points, grabbed six boards and dished out a team-high nine assists. Sophomore Nate Coley, (Little Rock, Ark.) scored 13 points, making seven of eight free throws. Freshman Isayah Pankey (Dallas, Texas) scored 10 points off the bench with four assists and five boards.

For the game MCC shot 46.9 percent, made three of 13 triples (23.1 percent) and went 28 of 36 from the free-throw line (77.8 percent). MCC had a 54-38 advantage in paint points.

Snow shot 44.9 percent from the field, made 11 of 30 triples (36.7 percent) and went 23 of 33 from the line (59.7 percent.). The Badgers outrebounded MCC, 41-38.

Snow improves to 14-0. This is the third-straight win over a Region IX opponent as the Badgers are coming off a pair of convincing victories at the Snow College Holiday Invitational last weekend in Ephraim, Utah. Snow downed Western Nebraska Community College 127-91 and Casper College 103-68.

This was the second time these two teams have played each other with the first time coming Nov. 21, 2021, when the Badgers beat MCC 100-60.

MCC falls to 10-5. The non-conference schedule concludes Friday night (8:45 p.m. CT) when the Indians take on Salt Lake Community College (6-6).

“We’ve got another shot tomorrow against a very good Salt Lake team,” said Henderson. “We’re going to try and finish this semester off strong tomorrow.”

The Bears have won five-straight games including wins over a trio of Region IX teams: Western Nebraska (107-78 on Nov. 22), Casper College (97-87 on Dec. 5) and Central Wyoming (99-68 Dec. 6). Four of SLCC’s losses have come to teams ranked in the Top 20.

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