The Rustlers hit the road this past weekend to play two Region 9 opponents on their home courts. Friday night pitted CWC against Eastern Wyoming followed by a short trip to Cheyenne on Saturday to play LCCC. "Playing our 3rd and 4th straight games on the road is not an ideal schedule, but we have to play the schedule we have," commented Coach Schmit on his team's recent travels. 

 

Game 1 against the Lancers saw another sluggish start from the Rustlers. CWC fell behind by double digits in the first half eventually getting down by 15 plus early in the second half. A second-half charge got the team back in the game, but a lackluster performance on the defensive side of the ball ended up burying the team. CWC fell by a final score of 89-99. Niieihii Black led the team in scoring with 23 points followed closely by Lorence Dela Cruz's 20 points.  "Giving up 99 points to a team averaging 77 is a recipe for disaster. We are not competing hard consistently enough to win college basketball games. I have to do a better job finding the right formula for us to be successful," quoted Coach Schmit. 

 

Game 2 put the Rustlers up against the Golden Eagles of LCCC. A much more talented team than they faced the previous night in Torrington was no small task. A much more focused, engaged, and competitive team showed up for CWC on Saturday night. The team played at an incredible pace taking an early lead, holding the lead into halftime, and eventually running away with the game in the second half by the final score of 78-65. "I am very pleased with the result of this contest. Holding LCCC to 65, almost 20 below their average is a big-time accomplishment. My only wish is that our team was playing more consistently this time of the season. Not knowing what we are going to get on a game-to-game basis makes coaching very challenging," provided Coach Schmit.

 

Two bench players led the Rustlers in scoring; Lorence Dela Cruz tallied 20 points, followed by Julian Roberts who had 19 points and a career-high 5 blocks. 

 

CWC will finish a five-game road stretch traveling to Casper on Wednesday, February 15th for a tip-off at 7:30PM MST.