The CWC men's basketball took the court for their last regular season contest on Tuesday night taking on the Mustangs from Western Wyoming. These teams met earlier in February in Rock Springs with CWC winning 63-57. A lot was on the line as the two teams tipped off, with the winner taking sole possession of 4th place in the Region 9 standings earning them a home play-in game. From the opening minutes, the game was controlled by the Rustlers and continued throughout the entire 40 minutes with zero lead changes in the game. "Holding the lead for an entire college basketball game is quite an accomplishment, especially against a very well-coached team like Western. Our guys are playing at a high level right now and I hope it continues heading into the post-season," commented Coach Schmit on his team's performance. 

 

Early in the contest did not see much scoring as the game was tied 10-10 at the under-10:00 minute media timeout. After a slow offensive start by CWC, the Rustlers found their footing before halftime scoring 31 more points before intermission taking a 9-point lead into the locker room, 41-32. An early run to start the second half saw CWC take a double-digit lead only to have the Mustangs charge back tying the game with 4 minutes to play. Some timely baskets by Lorence Dela Cruz and exceptional free throw shooting from Jaren Miller and Julian Roberts sealed the game by a final score of 84-77.  "I love coaching these young men. They embrace what we have coached since September. They enjoy competing together. And are currently playing with a ton of confidence. I'm incredibly proud of them and what we have accomplished to finish the regular season," provided Coach Schmit. 

 

A huge performance from Jaren Miller was the highlight of the night. Shooting 11-16 FG's, 3-6 3's, and 9-10 FT's, totaling 34 points. Contributions from the rest of the team were plentiful with Cruz scoring 14, Black totaling 10, and Roberts chipping in 9 points. 

 

With the win, the Rustlers earned a home playoff game against Western Wyoming. The game will take place at CWC on Saturday, March 4 at 4:00 PM MST.