LAJUNTA, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team put four in double figures and remained unbeaten in South Sub-region play with a huge 79-74 on the road against Otero College Friday evening n LaJunta, Colorado.
The Cougar men moved to 11-7 on the year and 2-0 in South Sub-region action with the win. WNCC will look for another sub-region Saturday afternoon as they travel to Trinidad, Colorado, to face the Trinidad State College Trojans.
The WNCC men put together a complete contest as they led about 90 percent of the match. The Cougars only trailed three times in the contest and that was in the first three minutes of the game. Trailing 7-4, the Cougar men went on a 9-0 run behind a 3-pointer by Carl Thorpe and six points from Biko Johnson to lead 13-7.
Otero came back to tie the game at 16 and then 18, but never could get the lead. WNCC went up 24-18 on a Thorpe trey and a dunk. The game stayed close as the Rattlers sliced the lead down to one at 35-34, but the Cougars closed out the half on a 7-1 run to lead at halftime 42-35.
The Cougars went up by double digits at 50-40 on a CJ Johnson bucket and led by 12 at 56-44. That was when Otero went on a 9-0 run to slice the Cougar lead to just three points. During that four-minute span, WNCC went scoreless. Finally, with 7:19 to play in the contest, Biko Johnson made an old-fashioned 3-point play to up the score to 59-53.
That Johnson play refueled the Cougars as they went up by 10, 67-57 on a CJ Johnson bucket and led by 12 points, 73-61, with two minutes to play. Otero had a mini run, cutting the deficit to six points at 78-72, but Daniel Bula hit a key free throw with 20.5 seconds left to secure the win.
The Cougars shot 48 percent from the field while burying six 3-pointers. The Cougars were 23-of 38 from the charity stripe with Bula going 8-of-9 from the stripe.
Otero shot 41 percent for the game with five treys. The Rattlers were 19-of-31 from the free throw line.
WNCC had three players in double digits. Biko Johnson led the way with 20 points. Johnson had 30 points in last Friday’s win over McCook. Also hitting double figures included Thorpe with 19 and CJ Johnson with 10 points.
WNCC (11-7) 42 37 – 79
Otero (11-10) 35 39 – 74
WNCC
Zach O’Callaghan 6, Carl Thorpe 19, Biko Johnson 20, CJ Johnson 10, Stephen Ovia 4, Daniel Bula 8, Dimitrije Nikolic 6, Maurice Walker 6.
