CONCORDIA, Kan. – For as much that went right in the opening 13 minutes of the game, a home victory for the Cloud County Community College men's basketball team would be anything but easy in a 71-67 win over Seward County Community College inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium on Saturday, January 29th.
A crucial victory in terms of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference standings would allow the T-Birds to improve to 10-11 overall and 6-9 in the KJCCC while splitting the season series with the Saints who fall to 9-13 overall and 6-10 in the KJCCC.
The only way to describe the start to the contest for CCCC would be perfection as Cloud County would hit on their first eight field goals of the game which included a five-of-five mark from beyond the arc to jump all over SCCC and take a 19-2 lead just 5:20 into the contest. The Saints would turn the ball over just twice during the run to start the game for Cloud County but struggle from the field by hitting on just one of their first eight shot attempts to allow the T-Birds to extend their lead even further to a 28-4 lead on a
Malang Athian layup with 10:45 left in the first half.
With everything going the way of Cloud County in the opening 10 minutes, the T-Birds would continue to build off their momentous start as a 7-0 run following a called timeout would give CCCC their largest lead of the game at 35-7 as
Jalen Smith would hit on his first field goal attempt of the game. A Jaylin Henderson trey for Seward County would be a big response however to spark a 9-3 run to get the Saints into double-digits and cut into the lead with 3:26 left in the opening period. Following a
Nate Duckworth layup with just over two minutes left in the half, Seward County would manage to tack on a pair of free throws in the final minute to put things at a 40-18 T-Bird lead at the break.
Three quick points from SCCC would be offset by a
Joe Kearney trey to get Cloud County on the board in the second half as the T-Birds would manage to find buckets despite a strong start to the half from Seward County. Following the Kearney triple, Seward County would connect on a pair of triples as part of an 8-0 run to get back within 14 at 43-29 as the once 28-point lead for CCCC would suddenly be cut in half. A
Corey Sawyer Jr. layup with 15:26 left in the game would momentarily stop the bleeding for the T-Birds before seeing Seward County put together a 9-2 run that would make things a 47-38 contest with 10:49 left in the second half as points would seemingly be difficult to come by for the T-Birds.
Cloud County would manage to get their lead back to double-digits on a Sawyer Jr. layup to spark a 7-2 spurt to go back up 57-44 as three-point shooting would continue to be a big factor for Cloud County offense. A triple by Smith with 5:52 remaining would turn a 57-46 game into a 60-46 game as the T-Birds would appear to be finding their rhythm again and with an opportunity to try and put the game away for good. A layup for the Saints however right before the final media timeout of the contest however would allow SCCC to reclaim momentum and go on a 14-1 run that included a pair of Saint three's to cut the lead down to one at 61-60.
Needing to find some more offense in the final 2:58 to hang on to what was seemingly a runaway victory in the first half, Cloud County would see Seward County tie things at 63-63 and again at 65-65 despite managing to keep the Saints from taking the lead. Duckworth would drive to the hole and put in a reverse layup with 1:46 remaining that would put CCCC back on top by a score of 67-65 as the T-Birds would then get a defensive stop after committing a foul but taking advantage of an empty opportunity from SCCC at the free-throw line. With too much time remaining to chew up the clock, the T-Birds would run their offense on their next possession before seeing freshman
Zion Obanla pick up a would-be turnover and convert a layup to make things a two-possession game at 69-65 with 1:19 remaining.
Seward County would respond with a second-chance hoop of their own on the ensuing possession to get back within two before forcing CCCC into a turnover as the Saints would have an opportunity to tie or take the lead with 45 seconds remaining. After a missed shot and offensive rebound for SCCC, the Saints would cough the ball up but see a seven-second differential between the game clock and shot clock that would ensure one final possession. The T-Birds would burn as much clock as possible before having
Joe Kearney drive and leave a runner just short to hit off the front iron, but Obanla would come up with arguably the biggest rebound of the game and hit an open layup with five seconds left to seemingly ice the game. Seward County would attempt a full-court pass on the inbounds to try and save as much time as possible but see the ball tipped away by Duckworth in the air as time would run out on the Saints to allow CCCC to preserve the win.
After shooting 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the floor in the first half, Cloud County would cool off significantly in the final 20 minutes to finish the game with a 54.9 percent (28-of-51) shooting percentage while hitting a season-high 11 triples (11-of-17, 64.7 percent). The victory would come despite CCCC seeing Seward County attempt 14 more free throws (21-7) and also get outscored 22-12 in points off turnovers in a game that would see only nine total second-chance points (5-4 Seward County).
Leading the T-Birds in scoring for the third-straight game would be Sawyer Jr. with a game-high 17 points on six-of-10 shooting while also providing four rebounds and three assists. Handing out a game-high six assists and grabbing five rebounds despite being held scoreless for just the second time this season would be
Justin Graham as Kearney (11 points) and Athian (10 points) would help make up the off night for the Colorado Springs, CO native. Seward County would have five players finish in double-figures as only six players would score for the Saints with Branton McCrary and Harvin Ibarguen each scoring 15.
What's Next?
Cloud County will host a second-straight opponent coming off a game against a conference-leading team as Cowley Community College will be in Concordia for an 8 PM tip on Monday, January 31st. Monday's meeting will mark the first of the season between the T-Birds and Tigers with the second contest slated to come in Arkansas City on Saturday, February 19th. Cowley is currently 11-10 overall and 7-8 in the KJCCC with a game against number 10 Hutchinson in progress at the time of this recap.
