Men's Basketball | 12/5/2024 12:23:00 AM

Box Score Despite a valiant effort in the second-half, the Cloud County Community College men's basketball team's rally came up short in a tough 73-66 road loss to Colby in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play on Wednesday, December 4.

Cloud County was limited to just two field goal makes through the first eleven minutes of play. The T-Birds struggled to contain the red-hot shooting of Colby. The Trojans grabbed its first double-digit advantage at 17-7 with eight minutes remaining in the opening half. Colby buried 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from three-point range and scored 12 points off turnovers, pushing its lead out to 36-17 at halftime.

The Trojans continued their momentum from the first half, extending their lead up to a game-high of 21 points. Undeterred, the T-Birds dug deep. Cloud County's resilience on both ends of the floor brought them back to within single-digits at 59-51 on a three-pointer by redshirt freshman Keyon Garrett-Miller with five minutes to play. Freshman Elidjah Savane added two free-throws to trim Colby's lead down to 59-53 with just over four minutes remaining.

The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes before Cloud County freshman Kuel Akot drilled a three-pointer to make it 65-61 with 1:35 left.

Colby sophomore Gaius Meowuru M'Ella countered with a bucket in the paint to give the Trojans a 67-61 advantage.

Garrett-Miller connected on two free-throws for Cloud County, but M'Ella made one of two on a trip to the foul line, keeping Colby ahead by five points at 68-63.

Redshirt freshman Matthew Garber answered with a layup to pull to within one possession at 68-65 with 29 seconds to play.

A quick foul committed by the T-Birds sent freshman Eternity Eguagie to the free-throw line. Egaugie missed the front-end of a one-and-one opportunity, but the offensive rebound was collected by Colby. M'Ella stepped to the line and made one of his two attempts to give Colby a 69-65 lead.

Fouled with 12 seconds to go, Garrett-Miller made one of his two attempts from the foul line, again bringing the T-Birds back to within three points at 69-66.

Freshman guard D.J. Cason added two free-throws for the Trojans in the closing seconds, and following a T-Bird miss from behind the arc, M'Ella finished off the contest with a dunk at the buzzer giving Colby the six point victory.

Cloud County outscored Colby 49-37 over the final 20 minutes of play. The T-Birds ended up shooting 53.1 percent from the field in the second-half, including 50.0 percent from three-point range, to go along with a 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) showing from the free-throw line. Cloud County finished the contest shooting 44.2 percent overall, while Colby shot 48.2 percent from the field with 12 made three-pointers on the night.

Akot lead the way for Cloud County with a game-high 18 points with three made triples. Garrett-Miller chipped in 16 points with two assists and two steals. Savane added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Amare Johnson added seven points in just over 14 minutes of play.

Cloud County will look to build on its second-half performance as they return to Arley Bryant Gymnasium in Concordia on Saturday, December 7 when they take on the Independence Pirates in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 pm. Independence currently sits at 5-5 on the season and 1-3 in KJCCC action after dropping an 89-85 home game to Garden City on December 4. The T-Birds swept the regular season series with the Pirates last year, including posting an 87-48 win in Concordia.