SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. -  The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team put four players in double figures and played one of their best second halves of the season in registering a 79-73 win over Miles Community College Monday night at Cougar Palace.
The win snapped a 5-game losing skid and now the Cougars look to for their second straight win when they host Eastern Wyoming College Tuesday in a women’s and men’s doubleheader. The women’s game starts at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow.
WNCC head coach Roybell Baez thought his team’s second half performance was one of the best of the season with how they played as a team and hit shots.
“I thought that was our best second half effort we’ve had all year,” he said. “We came out defending. We got like three of four steals in a row and got those big dunks and that kind of carried the momentum for the rest of the second half. Honestly, it’s been our best defensive game all year. I am proud of those guys.
“We’ve been watching a lot of film and we’ve been having a lot of come to Jesus meetings because we haven’t been playing the way that I personally think we could. I thought tonight was a complete team effort. They rallied and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
WNCC shot 39 percent from the field but buried nine 3-pointers with seven of those coming in the second half. Miles shot 33 percent and had just three triples.
WNCC was led by Viktor Lukic-Gavric with 23 points, including four 3-pointers. Kellon Harris chipped in 15 points with two triples, while Toms Linis had 11 points and Isaiah St. Preux had 10 points.
The first half belonged to Miles for the majority of the half. The Pioneers jumped to a 14-11 lead before WNCC scored five straight to take a 16-14 lead. Miles came right back with a 7-0 run to lead 21-16.
WNCC followed with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 23-21 lead. The game went back and forth until Lukic-Gavric nailed a 3-pointer for the 33-32 Cougar lead at halftime.
WNCC came out of the locker room fired up as they scored the first six points back-to-back dunks by Linis and Dorin Nguema for a 39-32 lead. The Cougars built the lead to double figures at 55-43 on a Kellon Harris steal and bucket.
Miles came back to make it a 6-point contest several times. With the score at 61-55, WNCC widened the lead to 13 when they went on another 7-0 run for a 68-55 lead. WNCC was up 75-64 with two minutes to play when Miles cut the deficit to four, 75-71. WNCC hit clutch free throws down the stretch to get the win.

Miles 32 41 – 73
WNCC 33 46 – 79
MILES
Jace Hill 11, Azenio Cossa 29, Uwami Chongo 8, Josh Gosar 5, Shad Boyce 9, Owen McParland 1, Donnie Haney 9, Dylan Swenson 1.
WNCC
Melchi Egbeyemi 2, Isaiah St. Preux 10, Amara Jackson 8, Nehemiah Jean Charles 3, Toms Linis 11, Xavier Kirkpatrick 1, Kellon Harris 15, Viktor Lukic-Gavric 23, Dorin Nguema 6.

WNCC women fall to Miles in overtime Monday night

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team dropped their second straight overtime contest as Miles Community College led for over three quarters of the contest in earning the 79-74 overtime win at Cougar Palace.
It was the Cougar second straight overtime loss after falling to Casper last week.
WNCC will try to get things back on the winning track when they host Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. After that, the Cougars will have a weekend trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Friday and Saturday to face Central Wyoming College and Laramie County Community College.
Monday’s contest was one where the Cougars put three players in double figures, but it was their shooting that was the main reason for the loss. Miles shot 36 percent from the field and buried 8-of-25 3-pointers. WNCC shot 41 percent from the field, but were just 1-of-11 from behind the arc. Miles made 25-of-33 free throws for 76 percent while the Cougars were just 61 percent from the line hitting 25-of-41.
WNCC was led in scoring from Zozefine Sipolina with 18 points followed by Ella Chesta-Carty with 13 and Celina Donyo with 11.
For much of the contest, it was the Pioneers that led. WNCC made the first bucket of the game. After that Miles went on a 12-2 run to lead 12-4. WNCC sliced the deficit to 12-11 on a Charisma Johnson bucket, but Miles went up 16-11 and led 16-13 after the first quarter.
The second quarter was a battle. WNCC cut the deficit to a single point on four different occasions but couldn’t the lead. Miles went up 30-23 and led 30-25 at halftime.
The third quarter saw WNCC score six straight out of the locker room as Donyo score all six points to give WNCC a 31-30 lead. WNCC had a 41-40 lead late in the third, but Miles scored the final five points while holding the Cougars scoreless in the last minute to lead 45-41 after three.
The fourth quarter was a offensive sow as Miles build a 9-point lead at 55-46. WNCC came back to score eight straight as Chesta-Carty had four points and Juseana-Rae Delatori had a steal and bucket to make it a 55-54 Miles lead. Miles led 58-54 when Sipolina hit the Cougars’ first 3-pointer of the game to make it a 58-57 game. Sipolina came right back and hit a bucket with 1:31 to play for a 59-58 Cougar lead.
WNCC took a 63-62 lead on two Sipolina free throws with 23.1 seconds to play. Chesta Carty made it a 2-point lead by hitting one of two free throws with 13 seconds left. WNCC couldn’t hold the lead as Miles’ Matilda Sanz score with 2.4 seconds to tie the game. WNCC’s last second shot wouldn’t fall and the teams were headed to overtime.
Miles scored the first five points of overtime for a 69-64 lead and led 72-67. WNCC battled back to make it a 1-point contest with 20 seconds to play on a Chesta-Carty bucket. Ebele Mbagwu hit a bucket with 11.4 seconds to play for the 3-point lead. WNCC had a chance to tie but their 3-pointer was short and Miles nailed two free throws with 1.5 seconds to play for the win.

Miles 16 14 15 19 15 – 79
WNCC 13 12 16 23 10 – 74
MILES
Jai Bauman 11, Ebele Mbagwu 15, Matilda Sanz 20, Kataya Kill Eagle 4, Laynee Elness 16, Taylor McCarthy 7, Pien Draisma 5, Alexia Finley 1.
WNCC
Celina Donyo 11, Veralyn Aviles 6, Charisma Johnson 8, Zozefine Sipolina 18, Ella Chesta-Carty 13, Juseana-Rae Delatori 4, Aniaya Burton-Hernandez 9, Brynn Sybrant 5.