CHEYENNE, WY – A big run in the first half helped the Laramie County Community College men's basketball team to a 74-66 win over Central Wyoming College on Saturday afternoon at the Blue FCU RAC to help the Golden Eagles back onto the winning track, improving to 2-1 in Region IX North action and 9-12 on the season overall.

"Today I feel like our energy was consistent," Freshman guard TJ Coulter said. "We didn't really give up any easy buckets and we kept on pushing the pace and didn't slow down for (Central Wyoming)."

Early on it was a back-and-forth affair with Central Wyoming getting the opening break; after leading 7-5 the Rustlers pushed the lead up to 15-6 and had the Golden Eagles on their back heels.

The script was changed in the middle of the first half when the Golden Eagles clamped down on Central Wyoming defensively, holding them to only two points for over eight minutes while they went on a 19-2 run to take control of the game, leading 30-17 with 3:30 remaining in the opening period.

Central did close back to within four by the end of the quarter thanks to some outside success but still trailed 36-32 going into the locker room.

Both teams had matching 5-0 runs in the first four minutes of the second half and with 15 minutes left it was 41-37 but that was where the Golden Eagles found their range from deep, looking to Nikko Von Stralendorff, who finished the game 3-3 from deep, to provide the outside firepower for a stretch that pushed the LCCC advantage back to double figures at 55-42.

"As a team we today we didn't care what type of run they were going on, we were just going to play our type of basketball. As a team we are just maturing, being able to handle adversity," Coulter said.

The freshman from Sparks, Nevada also provided plenty of offense, working inside as the guard drew multiple and-one opportunities, going 6-6 from the foul line for the game on his way to a team high 25 points and helping to provide balance to the Golden Eagle attack.

"Coach had mentioned that we only had six points off of paint touches yesterday, so he wanted us to get more pain touches today, so that's what I was focused on more when touching the ball," Coulter said.

The Rustlers lingered around, keeping the score within a few possessions and in the final four minutes, the LCCC offense went back to their reliable sophomores as Phoenix Bullock iced the game with a pair of late threes on a 10-5 run to finish the game and help the Golden Eagles to a 74-66 win.

Von Stralendorff, who transferred to LCCC from Rocky Mountain College, said the win was a step in the right direction but the team is still looking to play a complete game.

"We are really looking at putting a whole game together, especially in conference. We really want to take games like these where we have leads and extend them to blow teams out because that's how we feel how good we are."

Coulter's 25 points led the way for the team, and he was joined in double figures by Von Stralendorff's 12 and Bullock's 10. Coulter also added four assists and Bullock pulled down a team high seven rebounds.

"Being able to come in as a spark plug off of the bench really helps guys," Von Stralendorff said after his second game in as many days with double digit points. "TJ, Phoenix, DB, they aren't going to hit every night. We'll always have guys going off but it helps to get the numbers up and contribute when I can."

As a team, the Golden Eagles finished shooting 48 percent from the field and were 9-23 from three-point range. They also finished 13-16 from the foul line in one of their most efficient games of the season from the charity stripe.

Defensively, LCCC also controlled most the game, recording four blocks inside while holding the Rustlers to just 28 rebounds and forced Central Wyoming to rely on the three-point shooting, with half of the CWC shots coming from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles will be back at home next weekend for critical games against Western Wyoming Community College (10-12, 1-3) and Casper College (17-4, 4-0) as they close out a five-game homestand to kick off the 2025 portion of the season.

"Literally everyone on our team can score, so we just need to be focused on our defense more than anything throughout the practices before the games, we'll be straight," Coulter said.

More information on the upcoming schedule can be found at www.golccc.com.