Men's Basketball | 1/21/2026 11:53:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team came up just short in a heartbreaking 88-86 double-overtime loss to No. 19 Seward County Community College in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) play on Wednesday, January 21. Despite a balanced offensive effort, including three players scoring in double-figures and 37 points off the bench, the T-Birds were unable to secure the win in a grueling battle.

Sophomore forward Elidjah Savane led the way with a season-high 24 points in 40 minutes of action. Savane shot 5-of-9 from the field and 14-of-20 from the free-throw line. He also added eight rebounds.

Sophomore guard Syncere Burnette scored 15 points, connecting on three shots from behind the arc. Burnette also contributed eight rebounds and six assists.

Sophomore guard Kuel Akot chipped in 14 points with three treys, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Redshirt freshman forward Manasseh Stackhouse, freshman forward D'ontez Walker and freshman guard Kam Williams added eight points apiece. Sophomore wing Samuel Akot had five points, while sophomore guard DJ Holloway rounded out the scoring with four points.

The T-Birds shot 25-of-59 (42.24 percent) from the field, 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) from three-point range, and 30-of-48 (62.5 percent) from the foul line. Cloud County was outrebounded 50-41, and outscored 50-34 in points in the paint.

Cloud County led by as many as 12 points at two separate intervals in the second-half. Seward County amassed an 18-5 run to take a one point lead at 63-62 on a three-pointer by freshman guard RJ McKinnie with 3:07 remaining. Back-to-back jumpers by Stackhouse put the T-Birds back in front. Savane knocked in a pair of free-throws to expand Cloud County's lead to five points at 68-63 with 28 seconds to play. McKinnie scored on a traditional three-point play to cut the deficit to two points at 68-66. Savane made another pair of free-throws before McKinnie hit a jumper with 14 seconds left, making it 70-68. Savane went 1-of-2 at the foul line with 12 seconds remaining to give the T-Birds a 71-68 edge. Seward County freshman guard Korbin Dowdell drilled a three-pointer with eight seconds to go to send the game to overtime.

Seward County never led in the first overtime, but managed to tie the game four different times. Cloud County was limited to two made field goals in the first overtime, while Seward County managed just one field-goal make. The T-Birds went 2-for-4 at the free-throw line inside the final two minutes. A Savane free-throw with three seconds remaining put Cloud County on top, 77-76, but a foul as time expired put Dowdell at the stripe. Dowdell missed the front end of his two shot opportunity, before drilling the second free-throw to send the contest to a second overtime.

Savane scored on a layup to open the second overtime to give the T-Birds a 79-77 lead with 3:55 to play. Seward County received five points from McKinnie in a 7-2 spurt to put the Saints ahead 84-81 with 34 seconds remaining. Both teams traded a pair of free-throws before Burnette burried a three-pointer with nine seconds to go to knot the game up at 86-all, marking the ninth tie of the contest. Seward County then raced down the floor and McKinnie's layup at the horn was good, allowing the Saints to escape with the 88-86 victory.

Five Saints finished in double-figures, led by McKinnie's 22 points.

The game marked Cloud County's second overtime game this season and their first multiple overtime game since January 5, 2022, a 93-89 triple overtime home loss to Coffeyville. The T-Birds and Saints have also played an overtime game against each other in back-to-back seasons. Cloud County is now 1-2 in overtime games under head coach Kyle Pugh.

Cloud County (11-8, 6-7 KJCCC) will look to rebound on Saturday, January 24 when they travel to face Barton Community College at 7:30 pm.