Men's Basketball | 11/30/2024 6:55:00 PM

Box Score Freshman Kuel Akot made a three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left, and the Cloud County Community College men's basketball team picked up a nail biting win on Saturday, November 30, taking down Fort Hays Tech Northwest, 87-86, on the road in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play. The win improves the team's record to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in conference action.

Both teams shot the ball well in the tightly-contested affair, with Cloud County having the edge at 53.3 percent to 49.3 percent. The T-Birds shot 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from deep, while Fort Hays Tech Northwest went 3-of-12 (25.0 percent). Fort Hays Tech Northwest was 13-of-17 (76.5 percent) from the free-throw line, while Cloud County went 12-of-17 (70.6 percent).

Helping Fort Hays Tech Northwest stay in the game was 52 points in the paint compared to 40 for the T-Birds. Fort Hays Tech Northwest also tallied 26 points off turnovers.

Cloud County opened the game scoring the first seven points with back-to-back layups by Akot and a three-pointer from freshman Syncere Burnette. Burnette drilled two more three-pointers in the first ten minutes of play. A layup by redshirt freshman Matthew Garber gave the T-Birds its biggest advantage of the half at 28-16 with 9:43 to go.

Fort Hays Tech Northwest answered with a 14-5 run to pull to within three points at 33-30 with 6:29 remaining. Garber put the run to a halt with a three-pointer, while freshman Da'Ron Waller scored in the paint to push the T-Bird lead back out to eight points at 38-30 with 5:12 left in the opening half.

Fort Hays Tech Northwest continued to keep the game close, closing the gap to within a point at 44-43 with 1:47 to go following a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kalik Sharpe. Garber followed by sinking his second three-pointer of the half to keep the T-Birds in front. Fort Hays Tech Northwest sophomore guard Chase Harris hit a pair of free-throws with just over a minute remaining, but Akot scored the final points of the half and Cloud County led by four points heading into the locker room, 49-45.

Freshman Elidjah Savane scored six of the first seven points for Cloud County to begin the second half and the T-Birds led by seven points at 56-49 with 15:52 remaining. Fort Hays Tech Northwest responded, tying the game at 56-all on a three-pointer by freshman guard John Troolin with 13:13 left to go.

The two teams traded buckets before Fort Hays Tech Northwest captured its first lead of the game on a layup by Harris with 11:42 to play. But Savane made two free-throws on the ensuing possession to tie the game again at 60-all.

Fort Hays Tech Northwest grabbed its biggest lead of the game at 64-60 with just over nine minutes to play before Cloud County put together its own rally. The T-Birds went on a 19-6 run, highlighted by six points from Savane and three-pointers by Garber and Waller, to go ahead 79-70 with 4:05 to play.

In the final two minutes, Fort Hays Tech Northwest twice managed to pull to within one point before ultimately taking the lead again at 86-84 on a basket and free-throw by sophomore guard Idris Williams with 17 seconds left in regulation.

In the closing seconds, Akot emerged as the hero, sinking a clutch three-pointer with just 0.8 seconds remaining on the clock to lift Cloud County to the 87-86 win.

Savane led Cloud County with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and a 6-of-8 effort from the free-throw line. Savane also had seven rebounds, helping Cloud County outrebound Fort Hays Tech Northwest, 30-29.

Akot had 15 points and a team-high six assists. Burnette also had 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, to go along with four rebounds. Garber collected his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Waller scored 10 points in the win.

Cloud County continues Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play on Wednesday, December 4 against the Colby Trojans in Colby, Kansas. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm. After dropping back-to-back conference games, Colby got back on the winning track with an 89-78 road win over Garden City on November 30 to improve its record to 7-3 overall and 2-2 in KJCCC play.