Men's Basketball | 3/11/2026 12:12:00 AM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team erased a 12-point second-half deficit to tie the game with 1:31 remaining but ultimately suffered a heartbreaking 96-95 defeat to No. 17 Barton Community College in the 2026 NJCAA Region 6 Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. With the loss, the T-Birds finish the season at 18-14 overall.

As a team, Cloud County connected on 33-of-65 (50.8 percent) from the field and knocked down 6-of-20 (30.0 percent) from behind the arc. The 95 points scored by Cloud County was their most since scoring 95 against Dodge City Community College on January 31, 2026. Cloud County tallied 44 points in the paint in the contest.

Four players finished with double-figures in scoring for the T-Birds. Sophomore guard Syncere Burnette led the way with 22 points, including four made three-pointers. The performance marked the second time this season Burnette has connected on four treys in a game, after previously netting four made three-pointers in the team's 115-77 win against Kansas Wesleyan University JV on November 12, 2025. Burnette also added a team-high five assists.

Sophomore forward Manasseh Stackhouse totaled 20 points and 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double performance of the season. Stackhouse also matched a season-high with four blocked shots.

Freshman guard Kaidan Chatham finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and a 4-of-5 performance from the foul line. Chatham added six rebounds.

Freshman forward D'ontez Walker posted 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting while making 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Sophomore guard DJ Holloway and sophomore forward Elidjah Savane added eight points apiece, while sophomore guard Kuel Akot finished with seven points and five rebounds.

Cloud County trailed the entire first-half, falling behind by as many as 14 points through the first 20 minutes of play. The T-Birds missed nine free-throws and shot just 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from behind the arc in the opening half. Barton held a 47-37 advantage at the break.

Barton maintained control early in the second-half, grabbing a 59-47 lead at the 17:05 mark following a fast break dunk by sophomore forward Sebastian Muchitsch.

Cloud County then made its first push of the second-half, going on a 12-0 run, highlighted by eight points from Burnette, to tie the game at 59-all with 14 minutes remaining.

A pair of free-throws by Barton sophomore Aris Rodriguez put the Cougars up two, but Burnette drilled a three-pointer to give Cloud County its first lead of the game at 62-61 with 12:34 to go.

Rodriguez answered with a three-pointer of his own to help Barton pull back in front. The Cougars went on a 16-4 run to grab a double-digit lead again at 77-66 with 8:05 remaining.

The T-Birds, who shot 63.6 percent from the field in the second-half with five made three-pointers, continued to battle back into the contest, tying the game at 89-all on another triple by Burnette with 1:31 to play.

Rodriguez scored five straight points for the Cougars, sandwiched around a Stackhouse basket in the paint for Cloud County, to give Barton a 94-91 lead with 58 seconds remaining.

Chatham cut the deficit to one point at 94-93 on a layup in the lane with 46 seconds to play.

Barton missed two opportunities to score on the other end. Unfortunately, Cloud County turned the ball over in the front court with under 10 seconds to go, leading to a fast break off the steal by Rodriguez. Rodriguez was fouled on his way to the basket, before being whistled for a technical foul himself. Rodriguez, who scored a game-high 38 points, cashed in both of his free-throw attempts, but Burnette also sank a pair of free-throws for Cloud County with 3.9 seconds remaining to keep it a one point game at 96-95.

Following a timeout, Cloud County got one final look on a deep three-pointer from Burnette that missed, resulting in the 96-95 loss for the T-Birds.

With the win, Barton advances to play No. 5 seed Seward County in the semifinals on Friday, March 13 at 3 pm.