TORRINGTON, WY – The Laramie County Community College men's basketball team snapped their four-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon against Eastern Wyoming College, taking down the Lancers 75-68 in a grind-it-out game that moved the Golden Eagles back to 4-5 in conference play.
"They don't have a ton of talent, but what they do do is play really, really hard and I'm glad my guys matched that," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said. "There have been times we've come into this building and not matched how hard they were going to play."
The two teams were deadlocked early with the score sitting at 7-7 when the Golden Eagles made the first punch. The Lancers pushed to an 11-7 lead, but the Golden Eagles responded with TJ Coulter and Davion Butler combining to lead an 11-0 run and put LCCC up 18-11.
A 9-2 run from EWC tied the game at 20 all, but LCCC pulled back ahead in what became the trend for the first half, getting up 26-20 before the Lancers again tied the game at 26, 28, and 30 with just under four minutes to go in the first half.
Neither could shake the other down the stretch, going into the locker room with the host Lancers leading 34-33 with the bench for LCCC playing a big role in keeping it close.
"I didn't have to sub in the second half, but the first half, we had to keep the game close with our subs and they did that," Saulsberry said. "When you bring subs in, sometimes it's not about putting points up on the board, sometimes it's can we keep it close enough so those guys can get back, and that's what we did."
LCCC took the opening salvos in the second half, taking the lead at 41-38 going into the first media timeout and pushing it to a game high 52-44 with 11:55 remaining thanks to a 7-0 run.
The lead grew to double figures for the first time four minutes later when the Golden Eagles went up 60-50, helped by Andre Bennett who sparked the middle of the half with his defense.
"Both Andre and Aeremiah (Binford) did," Saulsberry said. "I was happy to see some other guys picked up. Sometimes we can get really stuck with TJ and that's all that we look for, so it was nice to see some of those guys stay in the game."
Eastern Wyoming trimmed the lead back to a two-possession game a few times down the final minutes, getting as close at 66-60 and down to 71-68 in the final minutes. A Coulter and-one layup would be the dagger to the game as the Golden Eagles picked up the season sweep of the Lancers, dropping them to 1-8 on the season in conference play.
Coulter had another stupendous night, scoring 32 points including a 10-12 night from the foul line. He also added a team high four steals and was tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
"TJ is a closer," Saulsberry said, adding he isn't the only one. "When you have a guy who can shoot free throws like that, a guy who can make shots like that. DB is a closer and when Phoenix gets back, he's a closer for us."
In his first game after sitting out three with an injury, Butler finished with 15 points and Andre Bennett closed with 14. Only one player off the bench scored for the Golden Eagles and Saulsberry didn't play anyone but his five starters for the final 20 minutes of the game. LCCC also played the game without number two scorer Phoenix Bullock.
"We had a long break, and it keeps changing for us. We got into a rhythm with DB not being there, DB comes back and now we have to adjust to him coming back," Saulsberry said.
LCCC dominated in most stat categories, including a plu-9 advantage in rebounding, plus-3 in turnovers, and had four more blocks than the Lancers. The Golden Eagles also limited the Lancers to just 4-15 from three-point range.
The win moves the Golden Eagles into fourth place in the Region IX North standings with three games remaining. Up next, they will close out their home slate for the regular season when they host Gillette College on Friday night. The tip is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
It is sophomore night, with sophomore recognition set to take place at the conclusion of the women's game preceding the men at 5:30 pm. More can be found at www.golccc.com.