MCC teams gain rare road wins at Beatrice

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette Antonio Dye (23) of McCook Community College and Ben Bowman (left) of Southeast C.C. battle for possession of the basketball in action Jan. 16 at True Hall gym in McCook. Dye tallied a game-high 24 points Tuesday night to lead the MCC men to a five-point win over Southeast in Beatrice. [Click to enlarge]

BEATRICE -- It was a happy late-night trip back home for the McCook Community College basketball teams Tuesday night.

The Indians swept two games over Southeast C.C. of Beatrice in Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference action. The McCook women used a strong second half to beat the Storm 51-37. The MCC men avenged a loss to Southeast that occurred just 10 days ago with Tuesday's 75-70 win.

MCC men's head coach Brandon Lenhart said Tuesday marked the first time in his three seasons as head of the Indians men's program that McCook won in Beatrice.

"Obviously, since that hadn't happened, we had not swept both men's and women's games (at Southeast) either," Lenhart said. "So that was our first time for that as well, so we're pretty excited."

Halftime buzzer-beater

In the first game Tuesday, the McCook women trailed Southeast by a point just seconds before the halftime break. The Indians grabbed momentum when Elle Hiester, a 5-7 freshman from Monument, Colo., hit a desperation shot at the buzzer from past half-court to give MCC a 24-22 lead.

"We seized just a little bit of momentum," MCC women's head coach Benjamin Smith said, referring to Hiester's half-court bomb. "We came out (in the second half) and made a couple adjustments against a pretty soft zone they were running against us. We were able to get ball in the post, and our people were a little more efficient in the second half -- we didn't turn the ball over nearly as much."

Sierra Guy, sophomore from Toronto, Canada, led the McCook women with 12 points Tuesday. Jacqueline Lovato, freshman from Gunnison, Colo., grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds.

Donell Betts, a freshman from Ft. Collins, Colo., had 4 assists and Colorado Springs sophomore Britney Bunker recorded 5 steals to lead the Indians.

McCook had ran to a 60-29 victory over Southeast in action Jan. 16 at True Hall gym in McCook.

"They had a tough time scoring and we were more efficient scoring," Coach Smith said about the first meeting between the two teams.

Smith said his team's defense was key to Tuesday's win as the MCC women take aim at a conference title.

"I thought the kids really buckled down defensively," he said. "They played really hard, I think, with a sense of urgency and a sense of readiness, moving forward with the confidence. We really felt like we lost one that we shouldn't have lost at North Platte (a 62-53 decision Jan. 20) -- not taking anything away from North Platte.

"The kids are excited to move forward from here and see if we can win the rest of our conference games -- we've got four remaining -- and if we do we'll be conference champions."

Last Friday at True Hall gym, the McCook women ran to a 72-48 win over the Hastings College junior varsity.

The MCC women take a 13-9 record to Norfolk Saturday to face Northeast Community College.

Key defensive stops

Coach Lenhart said the MCC men used key defensive stops and free throws to ice the win over Southeast Tuesday. The Storm handed MCC a 74-66 loss at True Hall gym Jan. 16.

"They shot the ball unbelievable again," Lenhart said of Tuesday night's rematch. "It just seems like a pretty heated contest when we get together and play one another. We got enough stops and we got enough scores to come away with a victory. We're pretty excited.

"A total team victory, and we're pretty excited for McCook Community College to come away with two wins."

MCC men's two-game win streak

After a two-game losing skid (Southeast Jan. 16 and a 94-86 decision at North Platte four nights later), the Indians have now won two straight, including last Saturday's 94-48 romp over the William Penn (Iowa) junior varsity. Coach Lenhart said his team is playing well after some heart-to-heart chats between the players and coaching staff.

"I just think that we're starting to mature as a basketball team," Lenhart said. "The wheels kind of fell off on us versus North Platte, and we just discussed that and talked about situations, different things in our practice sessions and film sessions. I think that we've matured a ton from Southeast and the North Platte games.

"We talked about our poise and not losing our composure and complaining to the officials a little bit. We hashed that out and we made a pact not to do that ever again, and to let all those things go, to control what we can control and not worry about the uncontrollable."

'Dye'-hard MCC leader

Antonio Dye, McCook's standout freshman guard from Mishawaka, Ind., led all scorers with 24 points. Andrew Hanson, 5-10 freshman guard from South County, R.I., added 16 points. Marcus Landry, 6-6 sophomore from Sulphur, La., grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds.

McCook led 40-27 at intermission.

The MCC men have an important road trip next weekend. McCook will play at Northeast C.C. of Norfolk Saturday, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. Lenhart's MCC teams have never won in Norfolk. The Indians will face Central C.C. of Columbus Sunday, with a 2 p.m. start.

February home games

Both McCook teams have a heavy home schedule in February. The MCC squads host perennial Region IX power Western Nebraska of Scottsbluff Saturday, Feb. 6.

Coach Lenhart said he may try and put together a special event during the Feb. 6 home double-header to try and entice local fans to come out and support the MCC squads (stay tuned for more details).