Men's Basketball | 11/25/2024 5:16:00 PM

The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team puts its perfect record to the test when they play No. 1 Barton in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play on Tuesday, November 26 inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium.

The game will tip at 8 pm and will stream live on the T-Bird Sports Network with Spencer Farha calling the action. The radio broadcast can be heard on 1390 KNCK and 98.3 FM and on the web at NCKToday.com with Austin McNorton handling the play-by-play.

The T-Birds have raced out to an 8-0 start, including a 2-0 mark in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play, to begin the 2024-2025 season. The 8-0 start is the best start to a season for the Cloud County men's basketball program in 17 seasons. The 2006-2007 T-Birds began the year 11-0 on their way to a 23-10 overall record.

Cloud County opened Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play with a 74-69 overtime win over Seward County on November 20. The T-Birds trailed 58-53 with just over a minute remaining before they were able to force two late turnovers leading to a fast-break layup for redshirt freshman Keyon Garrett-Miller and a game-tying three-pointer for sophomore Fallou Koite. Cloud County began overtime on an 11-6 run to take control of the game, and the T-Birds finished off the win at the free-throw line where they connected on 5-of-6 attempts over the final minute.

Three days later, Cloud County defeated Dodge City Community College, 101-90, in Dodge City on November 23. The 101 points marked the most points that a Cloud County men's basketball team has scored in a conference game since a 101-69 win over Colby on March 1, 2023. Five players scored in double-figures for Cloud County and the team made 16 shots from three-point range. The T-Birds ended the game 30-of-65 (46.2 percent) overall, 16-of-32 (50.0 percent) from behind the arc, and 25-of-33 (75.8 percent) from the free-throw line. 

With the victories, Cloud County is out to a 2-0 start in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play for the third consecutive season.

For his part, first year head coach Kyle Pugh has been selected as the HoopDirt.com JUCO Coach of the Week. The award, presented by Just Play Solutions, was announced Monday, November 25.

Cloud County enters Tuesday's matchup averaging 84.1 points per game with a plus-16 scoring margin. The T-Birds pull down 41.9 rebounds per outing with a plus-4.1 rebound margin. Cloud County ranks second in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference in rebounds per game. The T-Birds rank fourth in the conference in three-point percentage at 37.4 percent, fifth in the conference in blocked shots at 4.4 blocks per game, sixth in the conference in steals at 9.0 per game, and seventh in the conference in assists at 14.8 assists per game.

Garrett-Miller leads the T-Birds in scoring at 13.5 points per game. The transfer from Purdue Fort Wayne has scored in double-digits in seven of the team's eight games this season. Garrett-Miller had 15 points and dished out six assists in the team's win at Dodge City. He currently ranks sixth in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference in assists with 3.9 assists per game.

Freshman forward Elidjah Savane is averaging 13.1 points per game on 65.0 percent shooting from the field, which ranks fifth best in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. Savane also ranks fifth in the conference in blocked shots with 1.9 blocks per game, and sixth in the conference in rebounds at 7.8 rebounds per game. He has two double-doubles on the year.

Redshirt freshman Matthew Garber has made 14 three-pointers over his last three games and his 26 total made three-pointers this season are the second most in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. The 6-foot-2 guard from Sabetha, Kansas is averaging 13 points per game on 44.6 percent shooting to go along with 7 rebounds per game.

Other Cloud County regulars include Koite (6.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg), freshman guard Kuel Akot (9.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg), freshman guard Syncere Burnette (9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.3 apg), freshman Vuk Zarubica (4.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg), and sophomore Roy Aviv (3.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg).

Cloud County is 2-8 in its last ten games against Barton. The Cougars have won three straight in the series and four of their last five meetings with the T-Birds. Cloud County's most recent win in the series was a 68-57 home victory on December 7, 2022, when coach Pugh was an assistant coach for the T-Birds.

Barton enters the game on Tuesday winners of 34 straight games. The defending NJCAA Division I men's basketball champions, Barton went 36-1 last year. The Cougars have started this season a perfect 7-0, including 2-0 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play. Barton opened conference action with a 94-89 overtime win over Hutchinson on November 20. The Cougars followed up that victory with an 82-77 road win at Garden City on November 23.

The Cougars are ranked No. 1 in the country in the NJCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.

Four Barton players are averaging in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Keandre Kindell of Cincinnati, Ohio. Kindell is averaging 16.1 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting from the field and shooting an impressive 96.8 percent from the free-throw line. Kindell also averages 4.3 assists per game. 6-foot-6 sophomore wing Brent Moss of Freeport, Bahamas is averaging 14.9 points per game and a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game. Redshirt sophomore Fontaine Williams of Wichita, Kansas is averaging 11.9 points per game with 10 made three-pointers on the year. Redshirt sophomore Modibo Sanogo of Bamako, Mali is averaging 11.0 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting to go with 5.9 rebounds per game.