CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College men's basketball team never trailed in their 77-59 win over Western Nebraska Community College on Monday night, dominating the Cougars in the opening half on the way to their 13th win of the season.
The game started out as a defensive struggle and neither team was able to break the scoreboard through the first few minutes.
Eventually it was Laramie County who opened the scoring with early free throws and a balanced attack would that featured four three's and five two's would help the Golden Eagles build a 35-18 lead at the half.
The lead was also helped by a defensive effort that held Western Nebraska to just 13.8 percent from the field and a stunning 1-11 from deep. The Cougars also had trouble at the line in the first half going just 9-19 from the line compared to a 13-16 performance from the Golden Eagles.
"We've really been trying to focus on free throws in practice and shoot-arounds," Assistant Coach DeShon Portley said. "We went down a little bit in the second half but the last couple of games we've been knocking down our free throws so hopefully we can keep that going."
The game was a physical one with 51 personal fouls between the two teams and three technical fouls called on WNCC and freshman Brandon Tchouya said it was important for the team to look to each other to rise above it.
"We're becoming a family now, so we just come together and know we should be good after that," he said.
The second half wasn't a dominant for LCCC as the opening frame but in many ways, it was better for the Golden Eagles as they improved on their overall shooting percentage and their effectiveness from deep to match the pushes by Western Nebraska at every turn.
Laramie County showed off their passing in the second half as well, with nine assists as a team in the second frame including multiple alley-oop dunks.
"Everyone kind of knows their role, we can build off of that and give the players freedom," Portley added about the team's creativity near the hoop in the second half. "Once we kind of get into our rhythm now we can take the leashes off."
Four Golden Eagles were able to crack double-digits including a game high 17 from Jordan Reed. Xavier McCord's 15 point, 16 rebound double-double was his eighth of the season. Tchouya and Tristan Starks rounded out the scoring leaders with 11 and 10 respectively.
In all, nine Golden Eagles were able to score in the game.
It wasn't just the offense though. LCCC was plus-seven in turnovers and forced 10 steals in the game. They also had nine more assists than the Cougars and had a 48-46 edge on the glass.
The win moves Laramie County to 13-8 on the season as they return to conference play with a pivotal game on Wednesday night when Casper College comes to Storey Gym at 7:30 pm.
The Thunderbirds enter that game tied with the Golden Eagles at 3-1 in conference as the two teams fight for second place behind 4-0 Northwest as the midway point of the conference schedule arrives.
Tickets for Wednesday's game are available online at www.golccc.com or you can purchase tickets at the gate.