MCC Men hold on for 79-76 win over Central Wyoming
STERLING, Colo. – The McCook Community College men held on for a 79-76 win Friday over Central Wyoming in the Region IX North/South Crossover Challenge hosted by Northeastern Junior College.
Sophomore Martel Evans (Omaha Creighton Prep) sank two free throws with 8.1 seconds left to seal the win.
The Indians started strong and led 23-11 at the 11:56 mark of the first half.
“It was definitely a game of runs but I thought we were pretty solid in the first half,” said MCC Coach Jacob Brandl.
MCC turned the ball over just three times in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Central Wyoming overcame a 43-36 halftime deficit and built a 74-65 lead with 3:27 left in the game.
MCC turned the ball over 11 times in the second half.
“That really hurt us and turnovers led to a lot of their runs where they were getting easy shots, but our guys did a really good job of settling down and really taking care of the ball,” said Brandl.
MCC responded with a 10-0 run over the next five possessions to lead 75-74. The score remained the same from the 1:57 mark until Evans put in a layup with 34 seconds left in the game to put MCC up 77-74. Central hit a bucket on their next possession to make it a 77-76 game with 17 seconds left. The Rustlers had to use five fouls over nine seconds to eventually send Evans to the line, where he made both shots and CWCC was unable to get up a shot over the final seven seconds.
MCC shot 42.6 from the field, made 10 of 29 tries from beyond the 3-point line (34.5 percent) and went 87.5 percent from the line, making seven of eight shots. The Indians turned the ball over 14 times while CWCC had 13 turnovers.
Central Wyoming shot 45.1 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from the arc and 54.5 percent from the line on six of 11 shots. The Rustlers outrebounded MCC 40-35.
“I was disappointed that we gave up 12 offensive rebounds,” said Brandl.
Freshman Bryan Akanmu (Paris, France) led MCC with 21 points and six rebounds. Louie Tucker (freshman, Bristol, England) hit five of 11 3-pointers, scoring 20 points and leading the Indians with 10 rebounds.
“We had a lot of guys step up, and we had a lot of big shots,” said Brandl. “Obviously Louie was good, Bryan had a great game and it’s good to see him come into his own and play with confidence and ability.”
Evans added 19 points and five boards. Sophomore transfer Ridley Shema (London, England) came off the bench with five points and four rebounds. Sophomore Zeki Cavli (Bodrum, Turkey) hit a pair of 3-pointers and had three rebounds.
“Anytime Martel can get downhill and then hit a 3-pointer as well is always good and Ridley gave us some good minutes along with Brandon and Colton,” said Brandl, citing the benchwork of sophomores Brandon Kabuya Mpoyi (Paris, France) and Kolton Hager (Wallace).
“And Ty Foster – stat-wise it wasn’t his best game but defensively he did a really good job and him being on the floor helps,” said Brandl of
6-1 sophomore guard from Bronx, N.Y., who had two points from the free-throw line but only turned the ball over once with three assists.
The Rustlers go to 6-8 on the season.
MCC improves to 4-8.
The Indians continue in the crossover Saturday with an 11 a.m. game against Western Wyoming (8-4). The Mustangs beat North Platte 71-64 Friday in the crossover pairings.
“It’s going to be a different look against Western,” said Brandl. “They are big, they are physical, and they beat you up inside. We just have to keep after it and see where we are, but I trust where our guys are at.”
MCC faced Western Wyoming Nov. 24 in the Casper Classic and lost 75-65.
Up-to-date information about MCC basketball including schedules, statistics, rosters and photos can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com.
