Men's Basketball | 12/3/2024 3:59:00 PM

The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team plays at Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference foe Colby on Wednesday, December 4. The contest from the Colby Event Center will tip at 7:30 pm. The game will be streamed live on Open Spaces Sports, while Austin McNorton will call the action on 1390 KNCK and 98.3 FM.

Cloud County rebounded from its first loss of the season, an 11 point home loss to then-No. 1 Barton on November 26, by capturing an 87-86 road win over Fort Hays Tech Northwest on November 30 in dramatic fashion. Freshman Kuel 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 one point victory. The win improved the team's record to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in conference action.

After dropping two straight, Colby managed to get back on the winning track with an 89-78 road victory over Garden City on November 30. The Trojans are 7-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Colby sports a 3-1 record at home this season.

Cloud County enters Wednesday's matchup averaging 83.5 points per game with a plus-11.8 scoring margin. The T-Birds pull down 40.0 rebounds per outing with a plus-3.1 rebound margin. Cloud County is fourth in the Kansas Jayhahwk Community College Conference in rebounding. The T-Birds lead the conference in three-point makes with 99. Cloud County is shooting 43.9 percent from the field, 37.2 percent from three-point range, and 69.0 percent from the free-throw line. The T-Birds also average 14.5 assists per game and 3.9 steals per game.

Cloud County also has one of the top scoring defenses in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, holding opponents to 71.7 points per game. The T-Birds have the best defensive field goal percentage in the conference, limiting opponents to 39.5 shooting from the floor, including 25.6 percent from behind the arc. The T-Birds are also fourth in the conference in blocked shots at 3.9 blocks per game.

Cloud County has won the last five meetings versus Colby.

Freshman Elidjah Savane leads Cloud County in scoring at 14.6 points per game on 61.9 percent shooting, which ranks eighth individually in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. The 6-foot-8 native of Nanterre, France is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game and 2.2 blocked shots per game. Savane has three double-doubles on the season. Savane's 81 total rebounds rank as the third most in the conference, and he ranks fourth in the conference in blocks per game.

A recent Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Player of the Week honoree, redshirt freshman Matthew Garber is averaging 12.7 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game, and he recorded his third double-double of the season against Fort Hays Tech Northwest on November 30. Garber is second in the conference in made three-pointers with 32. Garber is shooting 43.5 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from three-point range, and 75.0 percent from the foul line.

Redshirt freshman Keyon Garrett-Miller is averaging 12.3 points per game, including 11.5 points per game in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play. Garrett-Miller is the team-leader in assists at 3.2 assists per game, and ranks second on the team in steals at 1.3 steals per game.

Freshman guard Syncere Burnette has scored in double-figures in three of four conference games so far. Burnette averages 10.3 points per game and leads the team in free-throw percentage at 81.3 percent. Burnette also averages 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

After scoring in double-digits in two of the last three games, Akot has raised his scoring average to 9.7 points per game. Akot has five made three-pointers in that span and is coming off a season-high six assists against Fort Hays Tech Northwest.

Other Cloud County regulars include sophomore Roy Aviv (3.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.5 apg), freshman Dejuan Graise (2.0 ppg, 50 percent FG), sophomore Fallou Koite (5.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg), freshman Amare Johnson (2.0 ppg, 55.6 percent FG), freshman Takeo Moore (2.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg), freshman Da'Ron Waller (3.9 ppg, 44 percent FG), and freshman Vuk Zarubica (4.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg).