CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College men's basketball team fell to Casper College 91-84 on Wednesday night in a tough battle between teams tied for second in the Region IX North standings.

At the outset, the Golden Eagles offense found tough sledding which Casper took advantage of to build the lead to 21-8 after six minutes of action.

That would be the high-water mark for the Thunderbirds lead and the Laramie County offense began to rally behind several stops that slowed the momentum for Casper and allowed the Golden Eagles to outscore them 27-24 down the stretch to keep in the game going into the half at 45-35.

The rally for LCCC continued in the second half and a see-saw affair ensued. Laramie County would trim the gap to single digits and the Thunderbirds would answer until the Golden Eagles cut the lead to just one at 71-70 with just six minutes remaining.

Casper held off the charge after a time out to get back up by five and while the Golden Eagles cut it back to a one-point game several times, they would never take the lead down the stretch and fell for the second time in conference play 91-84.

"The effort was there. The execution wasn't there," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said. "We got ourselves in position to win the basketball game and you have to close it out.

Xavier McCord put up another powerful effort in the loss with 32 points to lead both sides, adding 15 more rebounds to his season tally. His point total leaves him just 39 shy of tying the all time school scoring record set by Joe Hamilton in 1987 of 1303.

Joining McCord in double figures were Brandon Tchouya with 23 points and nine rebounds, and Ben Hageman with 13 points and six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles were board dominant in the game, particularly on the offensive glass where they had a 17-8 edge.

It was the free throw line which would doom the rally where LCCC was only 18-33 for 54 percent in the game.

"You can't go 18-33 and expect to win against a conference opponent, Saulsberry said. "They are a good opponent and I think we are, but we have to make free throws. Tomorrow that's what we will be doing. Shooting free throws."

The four game homestand for the Golden Eagles wraps up this Saturday when Central Wyoming comes to Cheyenne with game time set for 6:00 pm from Storey Gym.

"Central's a good team and it's a conference game," Saulsberry said. "We have to dig down. I have to do a better job of coaching, getting these guys ready to play at the beginning and I think we will come out with more urgency."

Tickets for the game are available at www.golccc.com.