SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The Laramie County Community College men's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start against the #11 Salt Lake Community College Bruins on Tuesday night, falling on the road 98-80.
"I know we have a good team, but it's a young team that doesn't know how to put two halves together," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said. "We know at the end of this year we are going to be good, but we have to find a way through these growing pains."
The Golden Eagles struggled from the field in the first half allowing the Bruins to pull away early, only shooting 26.2 percent in the opening twenty minutes. The numbers were hurt more by the 3-20 performance from the team from beyond the three-point line and the lack of free throws, with only four attempts in the entire first half.
SLCC on the other hand took advantage of a fast-paced game and attacked the rim on the fast-break, only taking seven three's and shooting nearly 57 percent from the field.
"(Salt Lake) has a big guy that is on his way to TCU, and we didn't want to double him because he is a good passer so we but, in the end, it really ended up getting him going and we couldn't stop him. He's a big man and very talented and he showed everyone why he is going to TCU," Saulsberry said.
The success on the offensive side continued for the Salt Lake attack, but the Golden Eagles were a different team in the second half. After trailing 53-28, the Golden Eagles were able to close the gap to single digits at one point thanks to a torrid performance from TJ Coulter who put up 22 second half points on his way to a 30-point game.
Salt Lake would rally and rebuild the lead to the final of 98-80, but the Golden Eagles found something to build on moving forward after a much more promising attack in the second half.
"We don't lay down. That's the makeup of all my teams," Saulsberry said. "I knew we would make a run, I just thought we were too far behind to come back against a good team like that. We just played with no fear of messing up and in the first half I think we were just scared of making a mistake."
Four LCCC players finished in double digit scoring with Coulter leading the way. Brevin Phillips had a career high of 18 points including an 8-11 performance from the foul like. Phoenix Bullock had 12 to go with seven rebounds and four assists and Davion Butler closed out the double-digit scorers with eleven points.
"He's one of the best freshmen that I have coached in a while," Saulsberry said of the early season Coulter is having. "He's just a pure scorer and when I signed him, I knew that's what I was getting, so I'm not surprised that he's doing what he's doing. To score 30 points against Salt Lake means you can put the ball in the hole."
LCCC finished the game shooting 35 percent from the field and 22 percent from three. They also finished the night going 17-23 from the foul line. They were outrebounded in the game 50-44 and only combined for eight assists as a team.
Up next, the Golden Eagles will head out on the road to Gillette for a weekend tournament with games against the United Tribes Technical College and the Rocky Mountain College JV teams. Tipoff on Friday is scheduled for 3:30 PM MST against United Tribes and at Noon on Saturday against Rocky Mountain.
More information on the schedule and streaming is available at www.golccc.com.