RIVERTON, WY – After 12 lead changes and six ties in the first half the Laramie County Community College men's basketball team lost the pace with Central Wyoming College in a 77-67 loss on Friday night, dropping the Golden Eagles to 3-4 in conference play after their third consecutive loss.  

"We just can't hold onto it right now," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said. "Our offense is just off, our defense is off right now. When you take the leader away from your team, you have a lot of guys out there right now who just aren't used to those roles, and it hurts us. (Davion) being out, we have to find a way to get through some games without him."

Both sides traded leads three times in the opening four minutes, going into the first media timeout with Central Wyoming leading 7-4 in the first half. The Rustlers pushed ahead to 9-4 out of the break but a pair of threes from Phoenix Bullock and Andre Bennett brought the lead back to LCCC.

The Golden Eagles took the lead for good on a 10-3 run that pushed them ahead 23-17 thanks to eight points in the burst from TJ Coulter as the offense was being spread around through the first ten minutes.

Neither side could shake the other and it was clear in the stats with eight lead changes and four ties going into the final four minutes of the first half with both sides tied at 30 on a midrange jumper from Coulter who had 16 points in the opening half.

Central Wyoming didn't let the Golden Eagles get too shy though and closed the half on an 8-0 run after LCCC had pushed ahead 37-34, heading into the half after a buzzer beating two from just inside the three-point line to head into the half up 42-37, matching the Rustlers biggest lead of the first half.

The second half began with the Golden Eagles chipping back into the game to close the gap to just one at 46-45, but the Rustlers were able to rally back and go on an 8-1 run to take their largest lead of the game at 54-46 with just over 12 minutes to go.

A critical momentum play happened two minutes later when a fast break by Xavier January led to an offensive foul which was upgraded to a flagrant after a review and the Rustlers used that momentum to go up 65-55 over the next few minutes.

"We cut it to five, we get a steal, everyone is excited and then they get the flagrant foul, hit their free throws, and come down and get a three," Saulsberry said. "It's a huge momentum killer. That's not why you have the video. But that's what happens when you are on the road. You have to overcome that," Saulsberry said.

Another blow came with 3:41 when Bullock picked up his fifth foul and the Golden Eagles were forced to play with only one sophomore for the final stretch of the game.

Despite the disadvantage in experience, the Golden Eagles fought back to trim it to a 71-67 lead with two minutes left on a 6-0 run keyed by the first points of the second half for Coulter.

Central rallied back to make their free throws and pushed the lead back to a ten-point lead at 77-67 with 50 seconds remaining to seal the win on the way to a ten-point victory.

LCCC was paced by another 20-point game from TJ Coulter, who finished with 25 after having 21 in the first half of play. Binford added a double double to the scoring with his best game as a Golden Eagles, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Binford scored 11 of his points in the second half.

Saulsberry said after missing the first half of the season with an injury, Binford is rounding into the player they were expecting.

"That's what I thought we were getting the first semester. A guy who has a lot of energy and who rebounds the basketball."

It was a tough night shooting from three for LCCC, going 5-19 from deep and defensively, they allowed the Rustlers to shoot 55 percent from the field, aided by 20 assists in the game. Central Wyoming's bench also played a key roll, outscoring the Golden Eagles 31-5 in the game.

The men have a quick turnaround as they travel to Powell for an afternoon game against the Northwest College Trappers at 4:00 pm. The Trappers are coming off of a 90-79 win over Eastern Wyoming College.

More information on streaming and the full LCCC schedule can be found at www.golccc.com.