Men's Basketball | 3/1/2025 11:52:00 PM

Box Score Five players scored in double-figures to lead the Cloud County Community College men's basketball team to a huge home win over Butler Community College, 86-83, on Saturday, March 1 inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium in Concordia. The victory snapped Cloud County's four-game losing streak and marked the team's first win outside of a forfeit victory over Independence since defeating Pratt at home, 84-74, on January 18.

The victory also marked Cloud County's third consecutive home win over the Grizzlies, dating back to the 2022-2023 season.

Redshirt freshman Matthew Garber tallied a team-high 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Garber also connected on 5-of-6 from the foul line.

Redshirt freshman Keyon Garrett-Miller had 16 points after going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Garrett-Miller also added five assists and three rebounds before fouling out of the ballgame.

Freshman forward Elidjah Savane and freshman guard Amare Johnson chipped in 14 points each. Savane had seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end, four assists and three steals. Johnson stepped up big off the bench, hitting on 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range.

Sophomore Fallou Koite added 10 points, including two made three-pointers.

The T-Birds shot 25-of-52 (48.1 percent) from the field and 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from behind the arc. Cloud County also converted 25-of-31 (80.6 percent) from the free-throw line.

Butler, meanwhile, finished 29-of-69 (42.0 percent) overall and 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) from three-point range. Five different Grizzlies reached double-figures, led by sophomore guard Russell Branch's 15 points.

Cloud County committed just nine turnovers on the afternoon, while Butler ended the game with a 46-27 advantage on the glass.

The T-Birds took their first lead of the game on a transition dunk by Koite to lead 9-7 with 16:28 to play in the opening half. The Grizzlies rallied to take the lead again at 17-14 following a three-pointer by freshman guard Rashad McCormick. Garber's three-pointer put Cloud County back in front, 26-25, at the 6:49 mark of the first-half. The T-Birds scored eight unanswered to lead by as many as six points, but a 7-0 scoring run by Butler, capped by a deep three-pointer from freshman guard Josiah Kirkwood, allowed the Grizzlies to retake the lead at 32-31 with 3:39 to go before halftime. Koite scored the final eight points of the half for Cloud County, including burying two treys, and Cloud County led by a 39-34 margin at the intermission.

Garber connected on back-to-back three-pointers early in the second-half to give Cloud County a 48-40 advantage with 15:18 remaining. The T-Birds later took the game's only double-digit lead of the afternoon when Garrett-Miller, on a fastbreak, took a hard foul but managed to complete a layup for the and-1 to put Cloud County up 56-46 with 11:54 to go. The Grizzlies fought back, tying the game at 60-all on a three-pointer by McCormick at the 8:54 mark. A trey by Johnson ended the run, sparking a 10-2 spurt that gave Cloud County a 70-62 cushion that the T-Birds wouldn't relinquish. Butler closed to within a point, 78-77, on a three-pointer by Branch with 1:13 to play, but Cloud County polished off the win at the free-throw line. The T-Birds were 21-of-27 (77.8 percent) from the charity stripe in the second-half.

The T-Birds will close out the regular season when they head to Pratt, Kansas to face the Pratt Beavers on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:30 pm. In their 84-74 win over the Beavers earlier this season, Cloud County shot 51.7 percent overall with nine made three-pointers and outscored Pratt 32-6 in points off the bench and 20-11 in points off turnovers.