GILLETTE, WY – After a slow start the Laramie County Community College men's basketball team rallied to take down United Tribes Technical College 91-81 on Friday afternoon in the Pronghorn Winter Classic.
"It was good to see these guys bounce back tonight," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said. "It looked like they were having a little bit more fun. Now tomorrow we have to try to get another one before we go home."
The opening minutes were a bit of a slow start for the Golden Eagles, and they found themselves down 8-4 after an 8-2 run by UTTC. After trading baskets to end the run, a three by UTTC extended their lead to 15-8 and forced a timeout.
The lead for United Tribes continued to grow and with eight minutes to go a three extended their lead to a game high 28-16. A Xavier January and-one at going into the media timeout gave the Golden Eagles some positive momentum but they couldn't capitalize.
Both teams saw the tempo of the game slow down and their offensive production followed suite going into the final media timeout and the deficit was pulled back to 35-23 going into the final four minutes.
A turnover out of the timeout started a 6-0 run that brought the Golden Eagles within six points with two minutes to go and was only interrupted by a free throw on the way to LCCC tying the game at 36 points on a Phoenix Bullock jumper with just over one minute left.
The half closed on another flurry of scoring from the Golden Eagles including back-to-back steals from Davion Butler and TJ Coulter for a 5-0 run including a banked in buzzer-beating three that gave LCCC a 42-40 lead at the break.
"Before the second half I thought we made a good run to get ourselves back in it and the second half we pretty much controlled," Saulsberry said. "They kind of made a comeback there at the end but I thought we pretty much controlled the second half."
The Golden Eagles continued to push their advantage in the second half, and after a spirited effort to keep up by United Tribes, LCCC was able to take a 78-58 lead going into the final four minutes.
It wasn't a cruise to the finish though. UTTC rallied to close the gap to single digits with 2:16 to go at 84-75. The run was stopped though and LCCC capped off the 91-81 win with a January dunk on a fast break.
The team was led by a near triple-double performance by Phoenix Bullock who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Joining him in double digits was TJ Coulter who finished with a team high 21 points and nine rebounds.
LCCC used a strong attack inside to wear down UTTC, shooting 47 percent from the field and only attempting 24 threes. They also forced 17 turnovers and made 23 attempts from the foul line, converting 65 percent of them.
LCCC is back in action on Saturday when they face off with the Rocky Mountain College JV team at Noon in Gillette to close out their two games of the Pronghorn Winter Classic.
Streaming information on that game can be found at www.golccc.com.