The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team received a double-double from Carl Thorpe with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Cougars came back to earn a 77-72 South Sub-region win over Otero College Friday night at Cougar Palace.

                The Cougars also received a big performance from sophomore Biko Johnson who poured in 23 points while going 9-of-14 from the free throw line.

                WNCC head coach Billy Engel said it was a gutsy performance from his team to get the win, which moved them to 13-10 overall and 4-2 in the South Sub-region.

                “I am incredibly proud of our effort today,” Engel said. “We talked about that our guys are all in and they always have a chance. You can’t be one foot in and one foot out, you got to be all in. The way we played together in Otero, not only did we play well, but we were all in. It was just a two possession game and all the conference games will be close and two possession games.”

                The Cougar men trailed 36-31 at halftime and then outscored Otero 46-36 in the second half behind a double-double from Carl Thorpe of 20 points and 10 rebounds to win the sub-region contest 77-72.

                The first half of the men’s contest was not a well-played half by both teams as neither team could hit enough shots especially from behind the arc as the two teams combined for just three in the first half.

                Shooting picked up considerably for WNCC in the second half as they shot 56 percent and the Cougars defense held Otero to just 36 percent shooting.

                Otero led 36-31 at halftime after scoring the final five points of the half.

                The Rattlers opened the second half with four straight to lead 40-31 and led 44-38. That was when WNCC turned things around as they went on a 10-0 run to take a 48-44 lead behind seven straight points from Biko Johnson and a 3-pointer by Daniel Bula.

                Otero came back to tie it at 48, but the Cougars stayed strong as they went up 57-50 on a bucket by Enzo Clouvel-Urie and an old-fashioned 3-point play from Thorpe. WNCC led 68-60 with four minutes to play on a Thorpe bucket, but Otero came back as they tied the game at 71-71 with a minute to play. Johnson came back and hit a bucket for WNCC for a 73-71 lead. Otero missed a shot and WNCC got the rebound with 11.5 seconds to play. Maurice Walker hit just one of two free throws for a 74-71 lead.

                Otero missed another shot and Bula gathered the rebound and fouled. Bula made one of two shots with 8 seconds to play. WNCC would win 77-72 as Johnson sealed the win with two free throws with 3.6 seconds.

                Johnson and Thorpe led the Cougars with 23 and 20 points. Walker also finished with 10 points.

                The Cougar men will face Trinidad State at 4 p.m. at Cougar Palace in a sub-region contest. Trinidad is leading the sub-region with a 7-0 mark while WNCC moves to 4-2 and is in second place. Otero drops to 4-4 in the conference.

 

Otero                    36 36 – 72

WNCC                   31 46 – 77

OTERO
Isaiah Piondexter 2, Kyrie Thomas 4, Ikechi Chantilou 20, LaSon Walker 12, Courtney White 7, Samuel Swolfs 8, Micah McLaurin 6, Keylane Lasisi 6, Sebastian Cole 7.
WNCC

CJ Johnson 2, Biko Johnson 23, Carl Thorpe 20, Stephen Ovia 4, Daniel Bula 9, Enzo Clouvel-Urie 2, Maurice Walker 10, Zach O’Callaghan 7.

WNCC women run away for 16th win of season over Otero

                The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team received a double-double night from Mackenzie Joseph as the Cougars used a strong second-quarter defensive effort in capturing a 96-54 South Sub-region win over Otero College Friday night at Cougar Palace.

                Joseph added four 3-pointes and was perfect for the charity stripe as WNCC improved to 16-8 overall and 4-1 in the sub-region.

                “I feel that we played together as a team tonight,” Joseph said. “We shared the ball to help give our team the best shots tonight.”

                The win was important as it moved the Cougars into first place in the south sub-region a game ahead of Otero while Otero drops to 5-2. WNCC will have another sub-region contest Saturday when they host Trinidad State College, the team that defeated the Cougars a couple weeks ago. Tip-off for that game is set for 2 p.m. and Joseph said these two games are important in their goal to win the sub-region and host the regional tournament.

                “This game and the next game we play are very important. This was a huge win for us,” the freshman from Louisiana said. “I feel that we need to play the exact same way we played tonight and even more. We want to host regions so beating Trinidad will help us accomplish that.”

                The first quarter was a battle as WNCC led 9-3 before Otero came back to take a 10-9 lead and then 12-11 and then 15-13. That was when WNCC got hot, as Joseph had an old-fashioned 3-point play followed by buckets by Bre Fowler and Ola Duda to lead 20-15 after one quarter.

                The second quarter was all WNCC as they ran to a 25-15 lead before Otero’s Katia Nekic hit a trey. That bucket by Otero was would be it for nearly six or seven minutes as the Cougars defense stifled the Rattlers. Offensively, the Cougars went on a 18-0 run that was led by two treys by Joseph and a 3-pointer by Fowler to lead 43-18. WNCC led 47-25 at halftime.

                WNCC never looked back after that as WNCC outscored Otero 25-17 after three quarters and then outscored the Rattlers 25-11 in the final period.

                WNCC buried 12 3-pointers on the day with Joseph with four and three by Fowler and two each by Shiho Isono and Yara Garcia.

                WNCC had five in double figures, led by Joseph. Isono chipped in 17 points followed by 13 from Fowler, 12 from Duda, and 10 from Garcia.

 

Otero                    15 10 18 11 – 54

WNCC                   20 17 24 24 – 95

OTERO
Anna Cera 9, Paige Johnson 2, Savannah Lang 6, Katia Nekic 2, Gia Bradley 14, Camrella Jefferson 8, Jaycie Casebolt 1, Hedda Kohne 11, Jennifer Jaramillo 1.
WNCC

Shiho Isono 17, Jayla Owen 9, Yara Garcia 10, Bre Fowler 13, Mackenzie Joseph 21, Ola Duda 12, Faith Walker 5, Rashaan Smith 8.