The second season for the Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team begins Saturday with the first-round of the Region IX tournament and records mean very little in a regional tournament that is up for grabs.
The Cougars, who have lost their last two games, enter tournament play as the number six team from the South Division and will travel to No. 3-seed Laramie County Community College for a 3 p.m. contest in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
It is a good match-up for the Cougar men. LCCC and WNCC split divisional contests this season and both have similar records. WNCC enters with a 17-13 mark while the Golden Eagles are 19-11.
WNCC redshirt freshman Bo McVay said this is a team that they know about.
"We are really ready. We are four games away from going to Hutch. I think our whole team is focused and we are ready to get into post-season play," the Mitchell High School graduate said. "Practices have been good and we all are really focused and we know this is a big game for us with win or go home."
More importantly, the Cougars could be one of the sleepers in the tournament. WNCC has lost six divisional contests that they should have one. McVay said those close defeats should be beneficial in the tournament.
"I think we have learned how to lose close games and since we have been through it, we know how to get through it and win them now," he said.
Playing all those close games definitely shows a will to comeback. That was evident in the team's last two games – both losses. In a 109-99 loss to the Northern Colorado All-stars, WNCC was down by 30 points and came back to slice the lead to single digits. Then, on Tuesday against Casper, WNCC trailed by 17 points in the second half and came back to fall 89-87. McVay said the Casper loss on Tuesday actually gives them motivation.
"That Casper game gave us a lot of confidence in the way we fought back in the second half," he said. "We were down by 17 and came back to tie it. That game showed that if we really lock down what we can do."
The regional tournament begins Saturday with seven first-round, or North and South divisional play-in games. The seven winners, along with the North number one seed Gillette College will then advance to the 3-day tournament March 3-5 in La Junta, Colorado.
First round contests include Little Big Horn at Casper College, Central Wyoming at Western Wyoming, Miles at Northwest College, McCook at Otero, Trinidad at North Platte, and Northeastern at Lamar.
The competitiveness of the South Division can be seen by the divisional records as just three games separated No. 2 Lamar Community College (10-6) and No. 8 McCook Community College (7-9).
"Honestly, from top to bottom, any team can be beat in our region. We are so close that even record-wise, we didn't know who we would play until the last day. Everyone is so close that it is good and bad because you can't sleep on any teams; you just have to take care of your business."
WNCC and LCCC have played twice this season. The Golden Eagles topped the Cougars 71-68 back on Dec. 5 before the Cougars turned the trick on LCCC 93-88 back on Jan. 22. So, what does WNCC expect from LCCC? McVay said they have to worry about themselves first and then LCCC.
"This is a good matchup for us. We know their personal," he said. "Knowing them will be a big help. Knowing what they do. Plus, it is a lot closer trip for us instead of going to Lamar like we were planning. Hopefully we can get more people out to support us."
WNCC has plenty of offensive weapons. The Cougars are the fourth highest scoring team in Region IX, having scored 2,643 points this season. McCook is first 2,887 points followed by nationally 5th ranked Gillette College at 2,761 points scored.
"Scoring points is a big plus for us," McVay said. "If we can share the ball, we have so many scorers on the team. We have so much talent from top to bottom, so if can share the ball we should be pretty decent."
WNCC has plenty of scorers as six players are averaging nine or more points. Michael Sparks and Tyrell Williams paced the team with 12 points each. Phil Fayne is right behind at 11.8 points followed by Andrew Ramirez at 9.7 points, Chase Mason at 9.4 and Michael Connor at 9.1.
While there is plenty offensive weapons – WNCC has converted 251 3-point shots this season – it is the defensive-side of the ball that has caused WNCC problems this season, allowing 2,457 points a game, which 10 other teams are allowing less points. WNCC has given up 17 games where their opponents have scored 80 or more points.
The game can be heard on Sunny 99.3FM or on the web at www.bluffsbroadcasting.com.