Men's Basketball | 11/10/2024 5:42:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team overcame a first half deficit Saturday, November 9 to defeat Western Iowa Tech, 76-65.

Both teams struggled to get any consistent rhythm offensively in the opening half. The T-Birds took its largest lead of the half at 18-12 on a deep two-point jumper by redshirt freshman Keyon Garrett-Miller with 8:02 remaining. Cloud County then went nearly five minutes without scoring and was limited to just three made field-goals the rest of the first-half.

The Comets put together a 17-6 run, capped by a pair of free-throws from sophomore guard Devares Whitaker, to post its largest lead of the day at 29-24. Whitaker led Western Iowa Tech with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

A three-pointer as time expired by sophomore Fallou Koite sent the T-Birds into the locker room down 29-27.

A quick finish at the rim by Garrett-Miller just fourteen seconds into the second half tied the game at 29-all. The early basket sparked a 17-4 run, highlighted by four three-pointers by freshman guard Kuel Akot, the last of which gave Cloud County its first double-digit lead at 44-32 with 13:36 remaining.

Redshirt freshman Matthew Garber also sank a pair of second half three-pointers, helping the T-Birds push their lead out to 17 points at 55-38 with 10:27 to play. Western Iowa Tech was unable to draw any closer than nine points down the stretch as Cloud County managed to connect on 11-of-14 shots from the foul line over the final ten minutes to close out the game.

Cloud County's performance at the free-throw line and from behind the arc let the team overcome what otherwise was a difficult shooting night. For the game, the T-Birds were 23-of-64 (35.9 percent) from the floor, but they knocked down 11 three-pointers, six more than the Comets, and hit on 20-of-27 (74.1 percent) from the foul line.

The T-Birds' high-level interior defense collected seven blocked shots and recorded 33 defensive rebounds, giving Cloud County a 44-33 edge in total rebounds for the game.

Akot led the way with a game-high 23 points as he went 7-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-11 from long-range. Garrett-Miller joined him in double-figures with 15 points, six rebounds and a team-high seven assists.

Freshman Vuk Zarubica led the team with 12 rebounds and eight points. Garber also had eight points and five rebounds. Freshman Elidjah Savane had six points, all of it coming from the foul line, to go along with six rebounds and two blocks. Koite added six points, while freshman Takeo Moore added six rebounds.

With the win, Cloud County has improved to 3-1 on the year.

The T-Birds will be back in action on Tuesday, November 12 when they host Sterling College JV in a non-conference contest. Tip is scheduled for 8 pm from Arley Bryant Gymnasium.