MCC men hold on for 66-64 win at SECC

LINCOLN – The McCook Community College men held on for a 66-64 win over Southeast Community College Monday night.

MCC came out in the first half and led by 21 points right before intermission and were up 38-23 at the half.

"When we put 40 minutes together we are going to be really tough to beat," said MCC Coach Jacob Brandl. "We just haven't done that yet this year."

The coach said on Friday he thought the team played 34 minutes of really good basketball in a 74-69 loss at home to Western Nebraska.

"Tonight I thought we played around 28 minutes of good basketball," said Brandl.

MCC only shot 32.4 percent from the field in the first half (three of nine 3-pointers), but had nine more shots that the Bobcats. MCC also made 11 of 12 first-half free throws (91.7 percent) and only turned the ball over five times.

"It was good to see us make some free throws in the first half but second half and down the stretch it was a different story," said Brandl.

The Indians were just nine of 16 from the line in the second half (56.3 percent) and finished the game making 20 of 28 (71.4 percent). MCC did outscore Southeast 20-7 from the free throw line.

Southeast made just seven of 21 shots from the free-throw line (33.3 percent).

Second-half turnovers were also a factor in the Southeast comeback and both teams finished with 18.

"18 turnovers isn't us," said Brandl. "Especially in the second half having 13 kept them in the game and prevented us from really pushing ahead."

MCC finished the game shooting 33.3 percent from the field, made four of 17 shots from the arc (23.5 percent).

Freshman Bryan Akanmu (Paris, France) led MCC with 18 points. Sophomore Martel Evans (Omaha Creighton Prep) put in 12 and sophomore Ty Foster (Bronx, N.Y.) scored nine. Sophomore Zeki Cavli (Bodrum, Turkey) led MCC with four assists and scored seven points.

Southeast shot 42.9 percent from the field and made three of 13 3-pointers.

MCC held a 46-37 rebound edge in the game. Sophomore Brandon Kabuya Mpoyi (Paris, France) led the team with 11 and Louie Tucker (freshman, Bristol, England) brought in eight boards to go along with seven points.

"I thought we did a really good job of keeping them off the glass for the most part and our ball movement was pretty consistent," said Brandl.

SECC goes to 8-20.

MCC improves to 10-17. The Indians will not play over the weekend but will play out of conference Monday, Feb. 26 when they travel to Ottumwa, Iowa for a 7 p.m. game at Indian Hills Community College (21-5). The Warriors are ranked No. 16 in the latest NJCAA D1 Men's Poll.

"Consistency is going to be key with us moving forward," said Brandl. "If we can get consistency for 40 minutes moving forward I'll really like where we are at."

MCC will conclude the regular season at home Friday March 1 against Trinidad State on sophomore recognition night. On Saturday, March 2, the Indians host Otero Junior College in a 4 p.m. game.

"We are definitely trending in the right direction," said Brandl.

Men's Region IX South Standings
                          W-L   PCT   Overall
Trinidad State      8-1    .889    19-6
Western Neb.       8-1    .889    19-8
Northeastern       5-4    .556    12-12
McCook               4-6    .400    10-17
North Platte         3-6    .333    12-13
Otero JC              3-6    .333    10-16
Lamar CC            1-8    .111    8-19

REMAINING REGION IX SCHEDULE
Tuesday
   North Platte at Western Nebraska, 6 p.m. (MT)
   Northeastern at Otero JC, 6 p.m. (MT)
Friday
   Western Nebraska at Trinidad State, 6 p.m. (MT)
   Northeastern at Lamar, 7 p.m. (MT)
Tuesday, Feb. 27
   Lamar at Western Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. (MT)
Friday, March 1
   Otero JC at North Platte, 7 p.m. (CT)
   Trinidad State at McCook, 7:30 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, March 2
   Trinidad State at North Platte, 1 p.m. (CT)
   Otero at McCook, 4 p.m. (CT)
   Lamar at Northeastern, 4 p.m. (MT)