The Trinidad State College men’s basketball team received 28 points from Lateef Patrick as the Trojans won their third straight Region IX title with an 81-56 win over Western Nebraska Community College Saturday evening.
Trinidad never trailed in the contest and held a commanding 23-2 lead through the first 13 minutes of the opening half. After the slow start, the Cougars started to come back as they out-scored Trinidad 17-14 in the final seven minutes of the half to trail 37-19 at intermission.
The second half was more of a ball game as WNCC tried coming back as they sliced the deficit to just 15 points on a JJ Harris bucket and an Anthony Simo 3-pointer. Trinidad answered with a 20-4 run to lead 67-36 as Kenyon Elliott hit a big 3-pointer. The Trojans led 70-40 on two free throws by Amir Reeves with 5:20 to play.
WNCC went on a 10-2 run that saw Willie Wilson get back-to-back buckets and Daniel Bula score four points to make it 72-50. But, everyone run that WNCC made, Trinidad answered and the Trojans had a 5-0 run on five points from Patrick and went on to win 81-56.
Trinidad shot 42 percent for the game and buried eight 3-pointers. Trinidad was 15-of-19 from the charity stripe and pulled down 55 rebounds.
WNCC shot 24 percent in the first half and was just 2-of-9 from the 3-point line in that opening quarter. The second half wasn’t much better as the Cougars shot 28 percent and made just 2-of-14 from beyond the arc. WNCC was 10-of-16 from the charity stripe and pulled down 50 rebounds.
Both teams had just two in double figures. Patrick led the Trojans with 28 points, including six 3-pointers. Keliese Frye had 15 points.
WNCC got 11 points each from Wilson and Simo, while Travis Easterly, Jr. had eight points.
Trinidad qualifies for the national tournament beginning next weekend in Hutchison, Kansas.
In post-tournament honors, WNCC and Trinidad each had four players on the All-Tournament team. Trinidad players making the team included Frye, Patrick, Reaves, and Devin Davenport.
WNCC players that earned a spot on the all-tourney team included Simo, Harris, Easterly, Jr., and Bula.
Other members of the all-tourney team included Northwest’s Colin Hayes; Otero’s Tay Mosher; McCook’s Ty Foster and Brandon Kabuya-Mpoyl; Laramie County’s Jordan Reed and Abdullah Mahamed; Casper’s Abdul Bashir and Josh Ijeh; and Gillette’s Jaden Witter-Watts and Jahki Gupton.
Other honors that were presented were the All-Region teams. For the North, the first team included Central Wyoming’s Sam Mabury, Gillette’s Witter-Watts, and Casper Darius Robinson; the second team included Casper’s Bashir, Northwest’s Hayes, and Gillette’s Bouna Kebe; the third team was LCCC’s Ejay Scoggins, and Western Wyoming’s Micah Pierce and Eddie McPhee; and honorable mention members were Eastern Wyoming’s Micah Glover, Casper’s Ijeh, Central Wyoming’s Julian Roberts and King Soloman, and Gillette’s Andrew Fuquay.
The north coach of the year was Gillette’s Shawn Neary.
The South All-Region members included First Team members Lateef Patrick of Trinidad, Jalen Foy of NJC, and JJ Harris of WNCC; Second Team members were Anthony Harris of Otero, Keliese Frye of Trinidad, and Willie Wilson of WNCC; Third Team members were Deng Diew of NJC, Louie Tucker of McCook, and Tay Mosher of Otero; and Honorable Mention members were Martel Evans of McCook, Davion Evans and Bryce Baez of North Platte, and Sean Lindsay of Lamar.
The South Coach of the Year was WNCC’s Billy Engel.
Trinidad 37 44 – 81
WNCC 19 37 – 56
TRINIDAD
Keliese Frye 15, Amir Reaves 8, Chase McWhite 3, Lateef Patrick 28, Titus Washington 8, Kenyon Elliott 9, Finn Lilly 6, Tyson Roberts 2, Wahkil Lopez 1, Devin Davenport 2.
WNCC
JJ Harris 4, Maurice Walker 3, Anthony Simo 11, Willie Wilson 11, Travis Easterly, Jr. 8, Stephen Ovia 6, Daniel Bula 7, Kayden Nation 6.
