Men's Basketball | 11/20/2024 11:58:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team opened Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play with a 74-69 overtime win over Seward County on Wednesday, November 20 inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium. The T-Birds now hold a 7-0 record to start the 2024-2025 season.

Seward County opened the game with a 12-0 lead, holding the T-Birds off the scoreboard for nearly six full minutes to begin the contest. A 15-2 run from the T-Birds, highlighted by two made three-pointers by redshirt freshman Matthew Garber, enabled Cloud County to take its first lead of the game at 15-14 with 9:33 remaining in the opening half. The two teams traded the lead ten times through the first half and Seward County held a one point advantage at 29-28 at the intermission.

The Saints extended their lead out to six points early in the second half of play. Undeterred, the T-Birds fought back, assembling a 9-2 run ending on a steal by Garber and a transitional dunk by Fallou Koite to grab a 37-36 lead with 13:38 remaining.

Cloud County and Seward County traded the lead three times over the next five minutes. The T-Birds were able to tie the game at 46-46 on a free-throw by redshirt freshman Keyon Garrett-Miller with 7:38 to go. The Saints scored the next eight points, but the T-Birds again were able to close the gap to one possession on a three-pointer by Garber with 2:11 to play.

A pair of free-throws by Saints freshman guard Dekwon Brown gave Seward County a 58-53 lead.

The T-Birds were able to force a turnover with just over a minute remaining when Koite was able to take it away from Brown, leading to a fast-break layup for Garrett-Miller. Following another turnover by Seward County, Koite buried a triple with 33 seconds to go, tying the game at 58.

Seward County held the ball for the final shot, but redshirt freshman Kiku Parker's three-point attempt as time expired was blocked by freshman Syncere Burnette, taking the game into overtime.

Brown connected on a three-pointer to give Seward County an early lead in the extra period. Cloud County answered wih an 11-3 run, including a three-pointer by Burnette, layups by Koite and freshman Elidjah Savane, and four made free-throws by Garrett-Miller. A basket in the lane by freshman Benni Kazadi pulled Seward County back to within three points at 69-66 with 49 seconds remaining, but the T-Birds managed to finish off the win at the free-throw line, connecting on 5-of-6 attempts over the final minute to secure the 74-69 victory.

Cloud County ended the night 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the stripe. The T-Birds also shot 25-of-62 (40.3 percent) from the field, while Seward County ended up 24-of-62 (38.7 percent) overall and just 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from the foul line.

Savane led four T-Birds in double-figures with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. Savane also yanked down eight rebounds, helping an undersized Cloud County team stay even on the glass with the Saints.

Garrett-Miller hd 16 points for his sixth double-digit scoring performance of the season.

Garber collected a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Garber also had four three-pointers on the night.

Burnette added 11 points.

Koite finished with nine points, three rebounds and three assists, while freshman Kuel Akot chipped in five points.

Cloud County will travel to Dodge City on Saturday, November 23 at 3 pm. Dodge City earned a 92-76 road win over Garden City in their conference opener Wednesday. The Conquistadors have won four straight to sit at 4-3 on the season.