CWC Men's Basketball Splits Opening Weekend

CWC Men's Basketball Splits Opening Weekend

The CWC Rustler Men's Basketball program took the court this past weekend for the first time this season. Facing off against two opponents from Region 9 South, Lamar Community College and Western Nebraska Community College. "Playing teams from the other half of the region is a priority for our program when it comes to scheduling. It allows us to see where we stand against teams we could match up against in the Region 9 tournament," commented Coach Brad Schmit.

First up for the Rustlers was Lamar. From the opening tip, CWC took control of the game jumping out to an 11-0 lead. With a halftime lead of 37-28, it seemed like the second half would be dominated by CWC. This was not the case at all with Lamar cutting the lead down to 4 by the 15:00 minute mark of the second half and once again getting within 4 at the 5:00 minute mark. With under 4:00 minutes to go, James Woods took over the game scoring multiple baskets down the stretch. Timely shots by Jaylon Gentry and Jacob Smith sealed the deal for CWC, taking the game 81-68.  Darius Guinn led CWC with 22 points, followed by Jacob Smith 15, and James Woods/Jaylon Gentry both with 14.

Coach Schmit, "Even though we led for the entire 40 minutes I never felt comfortable. Lamar was extremely well prepared for us and made some in game adjustments offensively that caused us some issues. I'm proud of my guys for getting the first win of the season, but we have a lot to improve on as we move forward."

The second tilt of the weekend matched the Rustlers up against Western Nebraska. The favorite in the south region used superior individual talent and toughness to defeat CWC, 100-86. WNCC came out firing from the perimeter, scoring easy baskets in transition, and set the pace of the game. CWC battled back to get within 3 at halftime, 45-48. The second half was similar to the first half with WNCC jumping out by 12 shortly after halftime. The lead fluctuated between 4 to 15 points, but the Rustlers could never get the lead. "It was very disappointing to play one game and lead for 40 minutes, then turnaround the next night and trail for 40 minutes. I take complete ownership for how we played. The game plan, in game coaching, and overall message leading up the game was not CWC basketball. Myself and the guys will respond in a positive fashion moving forward," quoted Coach Schmit on his team's performance against WNCC.

The Rustlers were paced by their sophomores with Jacob Smith scoring 23, James Woods-14, Jerroda Briscoe-14, Darius Guinn-10, and Anthony Mensah-10.

CWC will be back in action on Tuesday, November 5th against Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 PM.