MCC men host NPCC to open region Saturday
The McCook Community College men return to the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center basketball court Saturday for a key game to begin the spring semester. MCC (10-6) will host North Platte (8-7) at 4 p.m. as both teams dive into the Region IX South schedule which includes home and away games against each of the seven other teams in the south.
Over the next eight weeks, the top team will receive a first-round bye in the Region IX tournament with the second through sixth-place teams vying for post-season seeds and will play the sixth through second seeds from the seven teams in the north. The seventh-place team in the south will not qualify for post season.
Three of MCC’s six losses this year came to No. 1 Snow College (Utah) in overtime, and twice to No. 11 Indian Hills Community College (Iowa).
“Coming into the season with a lot of young guys and a competitive schedule with some difficult road games, we knew it was going to be challenging for us to mesh early,” said second-year MCC Coach Dillon Hargrove. “We go 10-6 with three of those losses to Top 10 teams so overall I think we put ourselves in position to win some of those games, but we just weren’t there yet.”
Hardgrove said not winning those big games was something the coaches have talked to the players about coming back from break.
“I was impressed with our guys – especially our last trip out to Las Vegas. We played really good basketball but hated that we lost those two games,” said Hargrove. “But I was impressed with the way the guys played and pleased how much closer they got as a team.”
The Indians were the only South team to post double-digit wins in the non-conference part of the schedule with the best record of the eight teams in the south division: MCC 10-6, Southeast CC 8-6, Northeastern JC 7-6, North Platte 8-7, Trinidad State 6-8, Lamar 6-9, Western Nebraska 3-10, Otero 0-12.
MCC went 6-0 against teams in the North Division in the non-conference schedule sweeping Eastern Wyoming and Laramie County Community College and adding a pair of three-point wins in the Battle For The Boot Tournament Nov. 6-8 in Twin Falls, Idaho over Casper College 79-76 and over Western Wyoming 94-91.
Northwest College led the North Division standings for the non-conference schedule going 11-6, followed by Laramie County CC 6-7, Gillette 5-7, Western Wyoming 6-9, Central Wyoming 5-9, Casper 5-10 and Eastern Wyoming 3-14.
“And now we have all league games – 14 – and a lot more spread out, not as much travel and I’m excited about what this group can do,” said Hargrove. “I think they went through a lot of things this fall facing adversity in a lot of big games – against nationally ranked teams and they got to experience that, which was important for this group.”
The Indians are averaging 88.4 points per game and opponents averaging 79.6 points per game. The Indians shoot 50.3 percent from the field and rank 18th in the NJCAA in that category. Their 43.7 rebounds per game are 20th best in the nation while their 32.4 defensive rebounds per game ranked fifth. They out-rebound opponents by an average of 11.4 per game. MCC averages 19.4 assists per game (16th in NJCAA).
Offensively the Indians are led by the backcourt duo of sophomore Nate Coley, (Little Rock, Ark.) and freshman Djibril Diawara (Aulnay-sous-Bois, France).
Coley leads MCC in scoring 17.8 points per game (second among Region IX South players) and averages 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. He shoots 48.8 percent from the field and 83.9 percent from the free-throw line. He gets to the line more often and has made more free throws than any Division 1 JUCO player in the nation – making 104 shots in 124 tries. He also ranks 20th in the nation in assists.
Diawara averages 17.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. He shots 44.5 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the 3-point line. He ranks second in Region IX South with 43 made 3-pointers, third in scoring and ninth in 3-point percentage.
At the forward spots MCC is led by sophomore Mo Diao, (Darkar, Senegal) and redshirt freshman Alier Alier (Bor, South Sudan).
Diao, who transferred from North Platte Community College, averages 13.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game. He shoots 49.1 percent from the field. His 120 rebounds and 38 blocked shots are tops among Region IX South players and he’s fifth in the nation in blocks. His 90 defensive rebounds are 16th most in the NJCAA and he ranks 31st in rebounding.
Alier averages 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and he shoots 57.9 percent from the field. His 86 total rebounds are fourth most in the south region, and he is third in field goal percentage.
Freshman Sofiane Benragba (Montpellier, France) has come off the bench to average 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He shoots 56.9 percent from the field and 61.9 percent from the 3-point line, making 13 of his 21 shots from distance this season. He is fourth in the region in field goal percentage.
Sophomore Lukas Gudavicius, (Palanga, Lithuania) averages 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, shooting 58.1 percent from the field. He is also third in the region with 26 steals.
MCC has four of the top six rebounds in Region IX South with Diao (first), Alier (fourth), Benragba (fifth), and Gudavicius (sixth).
After the North Platte game, the Indians will be home the second week of Region IX play hosting Otero College and Trinidad State Jan. 16 and 17. The game on Jan. 16 against Otero tips off at 5:30 p.m. and will be “Retro Night,” MCC Boosters Banner Club night and the record-setting 2025 MCC softball team will be honored that night. The day game Saturday, Jan. 17 is “Tropical Theme.”
Other themed nights on the schedule include Student Organization and Area High School Night Jan. 28 when the MCC teams host Western Nebraska at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
In February, special promotions: MCC Chili cook-Off and First Responders Night Wednesday, Feb. 4 (5:30 and 7:30 p.m. against Lamar; “GROUTFIT NIGHT (Gray outfit night) Saturday, Feb. 7 against Southeast Community College (2 and 4 p.m.); and “Neon Night” and Sophomore Recognition Saturday Feb. 21 vs. Northeastern JC (2 and 4 p.m.).
“Going into league play, this group is focused on being prepared, executing our plans and this team has developed into a really good team and ready to play our best basketball,” said Hargrove.
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