Men's Basketball | 11/7/2024 11:17:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team stormed past Kansas Wesleyan University JV, 111-60, in its home opener on Thursday, November 7. The T-Birds had three players finish in double figures as they were led by freshman Syncere Burnette with 17 points.

Cloud County (2-1) raced out to an early lead, scoring the first 22 points of the contest. Kansas Wesleyan JV was held scoreless for nearly nine full minutes before finally getting on the board with a jumper by sophomore Nathan Wegeng with 11:11 remaining in the opening half. The T-Birds had little trouble hitting from anywhere on the floor. Cloud County shot 58.3 percent from the field and connected on 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) shots from behind the arc in the first-half to build a 54-32 halftime advantage.

The T-Birds were able to pick up from where they left off, extending its lead out to 34 points midway through the second half. Cloud County kept the visiting Coyotes at bay for the rest of the game, eclipsing the 100-point mark on an offensive put back by freshman Da'Ron Waller with 3:08 remaining. The victory marked the third time in their last four meetings with Kansas Wesleyan JV that the T-Birds have scored 100 or more points.

Burnette collected 17 points in 19 minutes of action. The freshman guard from Raleigh, North Carolina was 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) from the field, 3-of-4 (75.0 percent) from three-point range, and 4-of-5 (80.0 percent) from the free-throw line. He also had four rebounds and a team-high five assists.

Freshman guard Nazir Allen joined Burnette in double-digits with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Allen also drilled three shots from downtown as the T-Birds ended the night 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) from behind the arc.

Keyon Garrett-Miller chipped in 11 points off 5-of-6 (83.4 percent) shooting, four assists and three steals.

As a team, Cloud County went 40-of-69 (58.0 percent) from the floor. At the free throw line, the T-Birds were 15-of-25 (60.0 percent). Cloud County won the rebound battle 44-31 and were able to outscore the Coyotes 77-30 in bench points.

Cloud County will now turn their attention to a match up with the Western Iowa Tech Community College Comets on Saturday, November 9 at 3 pm in Sioux City, Iowa. The Comets are currently 1-1 on the year. Western Iowa Tech opened the season with a 77-68 loss to Kansas City Kansas Community College on November 2, before taking down NJCAA Division II No. 15-ranked Johnson County Community College, 75-69, in their home opener on November 4. The contest will be streamed on the ICCAC Sports Network.