GREAT BEND, Kan. – Leading throughout the first half of action and taking a double-digit lead in the opening stages of the third quarter, the Cloud County Community College offense would eventually go ice cold to fall to Barton Community College at the Barton Gymnasium in Great Bend, Kansas on Wednesday, January 8th.

The loss drops Cloud County to 7-10 overall and 2-5 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College while the Cougars picked up their seventh win of the year to improve to 7-8 and 3-3 in the KJCCC.

The three-point range would be found in the first quarter of action for Cloud County as triples from freshmen Kelsie Kelly and Jacy Dalinghaus would allow CCCC to jump out to a 10-4 lead just over three minutes into the contest. Extending their lead to nine at 15-4, the T-Birds would see their offense begin to slow in towards the end of the opening period but hit on two more three's as CCCC would finish the quarter by going five-for-10 from beyond the arc to grab a 21-17 lead at the end of the first.

Barton would close to within one at 21-20 to open the second quarter before Cloud County would get back on track offensively with a three from Kelly and Maeson Dewey jumper to go back up 26-20 with 4:29 remaining before halftime. The CCCC lead would eventually grow to as many 11 with the score sitting at 33-22 with just over two minutes left before halftime, but the Cougars would score five of the final seven points in the quarter to cut Cloud County's lead to 35-27 at intermission.

Following a Barton free throw and Dalinghaus to open the second half, the T-Bird offense would go 6:21 without a point as Barton would quickly erase the 10 point cloud County lead as part of a 24-0 run that would give BCC a 52-38 lead. CCCC would finally get some shots to fall and score six points in the final 1:40 of the third quarter, but the damage would be done as the one double-digit lead for the T-Birds would turn into a 57-44 deficit heading to the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, Cloud County never would be able to get back within single-digits as the offensive barrage from the Cougars would continue despite the T-Birds avoiding a long scoring drought like the third. Three-point shooting would be the key for Barton as BCC would knock down three treys in the opening four minutes of the quarter to break the game open for good and pull away.

Cloud County would hit a season-high 10 threes in the contest, but it would come as part of a 10-for-35 (28.6 percent) performance from deep as the T-Birds would finish just 26.7 percent (20-of-75) from the field and attempt a total of 11 free throws. A tight rebounding margin would see Barton take a 49-46 advantage on the glass and hold a massive 38-14 advantage in points in the paint. Second chance points would be a bright spot for CCCC as Cloud County held a 16-9 advantage in second-chance points over the Cougars.

A game-high 22 points would be scored by Dalinghaus to go along with seven rebounds and two steals while Kelly would add 11 points. Dewey scored seven points in 17 minutes off the bench while LaKya Leslie grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

What's Next?

One final KJCCC West Division opponent awaits Cloud County as the T-Birds will host Pratt Community College for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday, January 11th. The Beavers will be coming off a 52-47 road defeat to Butler Community College on Wednesday night and will enter the game with a 10-5 overall record with a 4-2 mark in the KJCCC.