STERLING, CO – The Laramie Community College men's basketball team nearly rallied against the McCook Community College Indians on Friday morning in the opening game of the Region IX Crossover Classic from Northeastern Junior College, but couldn't finish the rally, falling 96-92.
The game came after a shift in the offensive scheme for LCCC, and Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said he was pleased with everything except for the final score.
"I'm happy with the change in the offense. I thought it was good. Changing the offense in the middle of the season is easy, it's really hard to change your defense," he said. "I'm really looking forward to Christmas break so we can go back to the drawing board and change some defensive stuff around and hopefully get some guys healthy and see what happens."
"We won in every aspect of the game except for they shot 40 free throws and made 34, and we shot 24 free throws and made 17. We outscored them, we out defended them, everything we were supposed to do to win the game we did," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said.
The Golden Eagles got off to a good start in the game, leading 10-6 going into the first media timeout and pushing the lead to 18-10 after the first seven minutes thanks to early offense from beyond the three-point line by Phoenix Bullock and TJ Coulter.
McCook went on a 9-0 run to answer in the next three minutes to take their first lead of the contest, and the rest of the first half would see the two sides trade salvos with two ties and three lead changes, and neither side being able to get more than two possessions ahead of the other.
The Indians picked up the last lead change after LCCC broke a 38 all tie, only to see the Indians nail a three that pushed them ahead 41-40. That would lead to a 10-1 run that was capped by technical free throws with 1:28 to go in the first half extending the lead to 48-41.
LCCC did close the deficit to 48-45 but a lay up at the end of the first sent the two sides to the half with McCook up 50-45.
Both offenses took time to wake up in the second half, and the opening two minutes only saw five total points scored by both teams. McCook was able to push the lead to double digits for the first time at 55-45 and held LCCC at arm's length for much of the rest of the half, never allowing the Golden Eagles closer than four points until the clock was under four minutes.
That was when LCCC made a run.
Down 87-78, the Golden Eagles began to work the ball inside and clawed their way to within three with a run dominated by free throws. Momentum seemed to be on their side until a near shot clock violation on MCC instead resulted in a desperation heave from Norris Bourne Jr. that pushed the lead back to six for McCook and stalled the Golden Eagle rally.
It became a free throw game from there with just 1:04 left in the game, and McCook made theirs down the stretch to hold off the Golden Eagles and hand them their eighth loss of the season with a 96-92 final.
LCCC was paced in the game by twenty-point performances from both Bullock (26) and Coulter (24) who combined for over half of the LCCC offense. Andre Bennett and Brevin Phillips also contributed with double figures.
A big factor in the game was free throws, and while LCCC took advantage of their 24 opportunities, including a 10-13 night from the line for Bullock, McCook took 40 of their own during the game, shooting 85 percent from the line.
That countered a 57 percent night from the field for LCCC, and a 7-21 performance from beyond the three-point line.
"We won in every aspect of the game except for they shot 40 free throws and made 34, and we shot 24 free throws and made 17. We outscored them, we out defended them, everything we were supposed to do to win the game we did," Saulsberry said. "You don't want to blame referees for it, but you have to look at the stats."
LCCC returns to the court on Saturday night to close out the Region IX Crossover against the host Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen. Tip for that game is scheduled for 6:30 pm. Streaming information and more can be found at www.golccc.com.