CHEYENNE, Wyoming – The Laramie County Golden Eagles won a battle of two of the Region IX North teams looking to snap a three-game losing streak, locking up the Western Wyoming Community College Mustangs and scoring a much-needed 97-85 victory.
Freshman guard Tyrese Potoma (Regina, Canada) led Laramie County with 33 points, four assists and two steals in the win while freshman forward Mateo Zovko (Mostar, Bosnia) notched 19 points and five rebounds. Rounding out the double-digit scoring was freshman forward Cortney Dean (Denver, Colorado) with 18 points.
Freshman center David Appelgren (Stockholm, Sweden) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Potoma was 7-of-10 from the three-point line to help seal the win for LCCC.
It was a game that Laramie County was in full control of from the very beginning as the Golden Eagles hit their first six three-pointers of the game for an early 19-6 lead four minutes into the game. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 32 in the first half as they would knock down a season-high 12 three-pointers in the first half.
LCCC's third consecutive home game went unlike the previous two where they were not able to shoot the ball well. The Golden Eagles (9-12, 2-3) shot 29-of-62 from the field for 46.8 percent, 16-of-27 from the three-point line for 59.3 percent and 23-of-32 from the foul line for 71.9 percent. In the first half, the Golden Eagles shot 80 percent from the three-point line going 12-of-15 in the half. LCCC also forced WWCC (6-13, 1-4) into 10 turnovers in the first half.
The host were able to hold the 60-33 lead at halftime as the Mustangs shot betting the second half and narrowed the gap. Obi Agu recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Mustangs.
Laramie County returns to the court Saturday in Gillette when the Golden Eagles take on the Gillette Pronghorns with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m.