CHEYENNE, WY – Career nights from Davion Butler and Pedro Ellery paired with 12 steals were more than enough to help the Laramie County Community College men's basketball team to their third conference win, taking down Northwest College on Friday night 103-96 to improve to 14-11 on the year.
The opening action of the game seemed like the opposite might be in store when the Trappers broke away from the Golden Eagles after a 16-15 lead turned into a 26-17 advantage.
That would be the moment the tide turned though and paced by a pair of breakaway dunks by Ejay Scroggins along with Ellery's first three of the night, the Golden Eagles not only reeled the Trappers back in but took the lead 31-30 in the final minutes of the first half.
The Northwest offense closed the gap to one several times, but LCCC held them off with a steady attack inside to keep the advantage in go into the locker rooms at the half with a 38-35 advantage.
LCCC continued their success on the offensive side of the ball in the second half, pushing their advantage to 52-42 thanks to a surge of points from Scroggins, Ellery, and Butler, going on what ended up as a 14-7 run which was helped by free throws , with LCCC opening the half with nearly flawless work from the line, only missing one of three of their opening thirteen attempts at the line where they were an impressive 30-41 for the game.
The lead hit a game high of 75-60 midway through the quarter, and from there, LCCC began to slow the pace down.
The team continued to get clutch shooting from Butler, who led the team on the night with a career high 27-points, 19 of which came in the final 20 minutes. He also finished with a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.
The Trappers closed the gap to as little as six twice in the second half, but even a surge in the final minutes that pulled them back to within 81-75 was thrown back thanks to a flagrant foul late on another Scroggins breakaway which also resulted in offsetting technical fouls, but also ended the momentum the Trappers had gained and gave LCCC to opportunity to push their lead back to 85-75.
Northwest tried to extend the game, fouling LCCC down the stretch to send them to the line but the Golden Eagles saw Jordan Reed, joined by Butler and Ellery, make their free throws and close out the win with their fifth 100-point game of the season, 103-96.
Butlers' night was paired with another career high from Ellery, who broke the 20-point mark for the first time as a Golden Eagle with 24. And Ejay Scroggins finished as the third member of LCCC to break the 20-point threshold with 21.
Reed also finished with 14-points, with most coming from the free throw line where he was 8-9.
Scroggins also led the team in rebounding with nine, and Butler was the main assist man with six over the course of the game.
LCCC finished the game with a 45.2 percent shooting night from the field and their aggressive attack inside resulted in nearly twice as many free throws in the game as Northwest College, who shot an impressive 81 percent from the line on 21 attempts.
It was the defense that shone brightest for LCCC, forcing 22 turnovers and grabbing 12 steals in the win.
The men return to action on Saturday afternoon when they take on Central Wyoming College at 4:00 pm at Storey Gym to close out the weekend. It will be the Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Out game, and fans are encouraged to wear blue to support the team. Tickets and more information can be found at www.golccc.com.