Men's Basketball | 3/9/2025 11:20:00 AM

Box Score Five player scored in double-figures as the Cloud County Community College men's basketball team edged Colby, 85-83, on Saturday, March 8 in the opening round of the 2025 Region 6 Men's Basketball Tournament.

Freshman forward Elidjah Savane tallied his 12th double-double performance of the season, scoring a team-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. Savane also went 7-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Freshman guard Syncere Burnette had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Burnette also finished with four assists and two steals.

Sophomore guard Fallou Koite and freshman guard Kuel Akot had standout performances off the bench. Koite totaled 15 points with three made three-pointers. Koite also had five rebounds and three blocked shots. Akot also knocked down three triples and had 13 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Redshirt freshman guard Matthew Garber scored in double-figures for the third consecutive game. Garber shot 4-of-5 from behind the arc to score 12 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The T-Birds (14-17) have earned their third straight win. Cloud County also earned its third consecutive opening round Region 6 Tournament victory, including its second in a row over Colby. Last year, the T-Birds defeated the Trojans at home in an opening round game, 79-54.

Cloud County shot 29-of-61 (47.5 percent) from the field and sank 11-of-25 (44.0 percent) from three-point range. The T-Birds also made 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) shots from the foul line.

Colby shot 28-of-66 (42.4 percent) from the field, making 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from three-point distance.

The Trojans had four starters reach double-figures, led by 6'7" sophomore Gaius Meowuru M'Ella who had a game-high 23 points and 22 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. Eternity Eguagie and Khadir Muhammad chipped in 17 points each, while Maxence Massadila finished with 12 points.

Cloud County trailed by ten points at the 14:29 mark of the first-half. The T-Birds then drilled four three-pointers, including a pair from Akot, in a 14-4 run to tie the game at 16-all with 10:23 remaining in the half. After falling behind by three points, Koite buried his first trey of the game to knot the game up at 19 with just under nine minutes to play before halftime. Savane followed with a basket in the paint to give Cloud County its first lead of the night. Akot and Koite both added one more three-pointer each and Savane scored ten first-half points, helping the T-Birds grab a double-digit advantage at 32-22 with 5:32 to go in the opening half. Colby closed out the half on a 10-5 run to trim Cloud County's lead to 37-32 at the break.

The T-Birds led by seven points at three different intervals to open the second half. Colby answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 45-all with 14:49 to play. A field-goal by M'Ella put Colby back in front at 47-45. The game featured nine lead changes and seven ties over the next ten minutes with neither team able to lead by more than five points. After redshirt freshman guard Keyon Garrett-Miller connected on a free-throw to tie the game at 69-all, Akot scored on the team's next possession to put the T-Birds ahead at 71-69 with 4:01 to go. The two teams traded baskets for the next two minutes before Garber scored on a three-point shot to push Cloud County's lead to 76-73 with 2:18 remaining. Eguagie scored on the next possession for Colby, but an and-1 for Garrett-Miller gave the T-Birds a two possession lead at 79-75 with 1:38 to play. Cloud County then sunk 6-of-10 foul shots over the final 1:10, including a pair from Burnette with 11 seconds remaining, to go up 85-80. A three-pointer from Massadila cut the deficit to two before time ran out.
 
Colby held a 43-27 advantage on the glass, leading to 19 second-chance points for the Trojans compared to just six for Cloud County. The T-Birds did force Colby into committing 15 turnovers compared to eight for Cloud County, leading to a 15-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Cloud County's bench also outscored Colby's 31-8.
 
The T-Birds will travel to Great Bend, Kansas to take on No. 14 Barton Community College in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 Region 6 Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 11. The Cougars have won five straight over Cloud County, including a 90-84 win in their last meeting in Great Bend on January 29. Tipoff is set for 7 pm at Fleske Court inside Barton Gymnasium. The game can be heard on NCK 94.9, with Austin McNorton calling the action.