SCOTTSBLUFF, NE – A slow start to the first half doomed the Laramie County Community College men's basketball team as they dropped their first road test of the year to the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars on the road on Wednesday evening.
"It was just a matter of young guys not knowing how to get off of the bus and play. It was our first road game, and we didn't respond well," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said. "The second half we but you can't dig yourself that kind of hole and that's what we did."
The game opened with a 7-0 run from Western Nebraska in the first 90 seconds to put the Golden Eagles on their heels and force Saulsberry into his first timeout. The run didn't slow down after the conversation and LCCC was down 30-11 after nearly ten minutes of play.
LCCC's offense did start to find a better rhythm in the end of the first half, but three-point shots and good rebounding helped the Cougars to the 49-26 halftime lead.
"Western Nebraska really shot the ball well tonight. They haven't done that all year. I'm very proud that we never gave up. I think we showed a lot of fight in us," Saulsberry said.
The Golden Eagles did respond well in the second half after a early burst from the Cougars pushed the lead to 60-30 in the first few minutes.
From there, LCCC put a few runs of their own together and would eventually close the gap to as small as 20 at 83-63. That resilience to not stop fighting is something that Saulsberry said he can build on.
That won't take the final sting out of the 94-72 loss as the LCCC record dropped to 1-2 in the early season.
LCCC was paced by a 14-point, eight-rebound game from Kevin Sylla inside as the Denver, Colorado freshman had his best game as a Golden Eagle.
"We always knew Kevin had the ability to do what he is doing. It was just a matter of putting him in the right position to do that. He really showed up tonight and had his best game of the year so far," Saulsberry praised his young post.
TJ Coulter and Davion Butler also finished in double figures with 19 and 16 respectively. Bulter added another four assists and four steals to help balance the offense and defense.
As a team, LCCC only was able to shoot 34 percent from the field in the loss and 28 percent from three. They also turned the ball over 17 times, although that was balanced by 10 team steals.
The Cougars answered with a 56 percent night from the field and an even better night from three, shooting 15-29 from deep. The Cougars also won the rebounding battle 42-33.
"As a coach you have to write this one off and realize that you have 27 more games and get the kids ready to play," Saulsberry said.
LCCC is back at home this weekend when Eastern Arizona College comes to town for a single game on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff between the Gila Monsters and the Golden Eagles is scheduled for 4:00 pm from the Blue FCU RAC. Tickets and streaming information is available at www.golccc.com.