Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the men's basketball team traveled to Miles City, MT to face off against two MonDak schools, Miles CC and United Tribes. Games after the holidays can always be unpredictable. After a day of feasting, fellowship, and celebration, the performance of players and the team can be unknown. 

 

The first game on Friday, against the host school Miles CC, was the perfect example of a sluggish holiday game. Both teams shot poorly in the first half totaling a combined 55 points, CWC 34-Miles CC-21. With the Rustlers holding a 13-point lead at halftime, the second half saw both teams shoot the ball better but CWC was never able to pull away. Multiple runs by Miles CC saw the lead cut to 7 with 5 minutes to play. Off a baseline OB, Trey Simms, hit a huge three to push the lead to 10 the Rustlers never let the lead get back below double digits winning the game by a final score of 77-62. Niieihii Blackbear recorded the first double-double of the season scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Two other Rustlers scored in double digits, Julian Roberts-12 points and Javonne Nesbit-10 points. 

 

"These types of games are hard. You are coming off Thanksgiving on Thursday, a six-hour bus ride on Friday morning, and playing a team on paper that we were 12-15 points better than. It was an ugly win, but we will take it!" stated Coach Schmit. 

 

Saturday's game pitted the Rustlers against a very talented United Tribes team. Tribes is a team built on playing great offense and in the first half, their team identity showed, with Tribes shooting 50% from the field and over 40% from 3's, taking a 46-43 lead into halftime. Coach Schmit's comments on the first-half performance, "I was pleased with how we guarded them in the first 20 minutes. They have offensive weapons at all five positions. Even when we challenged their shots they made them. I knew we had to tighten down in the second half or we could not beat them."

 

Clamping down on defense during the second half was exactly what the Rustlers did. Holding Tribes to 33 points on under 30% FG's. The second half saw CWC outscore Tribes by 10 (43-33), which led to a decisive win, 86-79. CWC was once again paced by Niieihii Blackbear, scoring 22 points. Other offensive standouts included Trey Simms scoring 17 points on 6-10 FG's (3-6 from 3's) and Javonne Nesbit pitching in 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. 

 

Coach Schmit's statement on how the weekend went for his ball club, "Beating arguably the top team in the MonDak conference was a huge accomplishment for us. On top of that, it was a weekend sweep which is really hard to do. Contributions were made by the entire roster. Team basketball is what we are about and it showed this weekend."