TORRINGTON, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team captured their first win of the season, holding Eastern Wyoming College to just seven points in the final six minutes to earn the 81-78 win Tuesday night in Torrington, Wyoming.

                WNCC head coach Roybell Baez said they had their ups and downs, but the defensive intensity to overcome a 9-point deficit with 6:20 to play and then to hold EWC to just seven points the rest of the game was crucial.

                "I thought the game was up and down. We had our stretches when we weren't playing very well, but we also had more stretches of playing good," Baez said. "And, honestly, I thought our guys did a really good job of staying together. This is a really tough place to play."

                The biggest thing is the Cougars found a way to win and that involved playing a tough defense down the stretch and hitting some big shots compared to their first four games against nationally recognized teams.

                "The last couple of games, whenever that last stretch came around, I got a little agitated and a little animated and the guys didn't respond well to that," Baez said. "So, today, I made sure that I tried to stay calm and just coach the game because it's a long game and we've seen a lot of crazy things happening in this gym.

                "So, just staying poised and just continuing to coach the guys to do the right thing and I thought they did that tonight. That last six minutes showed a lot of character. Again, we've been through four games against some of the top teams in the country and we've been in pretty much every game except one, which was the last game against Butler. We just weren't able to finish. So, I feel like learning how to win a game is the hardest thing to do in college and we understand how hard it is to win. I thought our guys did a good job of figuring out a way to win tonight."

                WNCC got the win and it was one where EWC led for 31 minutes of the game and the Cougars only led for five minutes. There were 13 lead changes and eight ties.

                WNCC shot 49 percent from the field and buried 8-of-26 3-point shots. EWC shot 56 percent and made 5-of-20 3-pointers.

                WNCC had four players in double figures, led by Viktor Lukic-Gavric with 27 points including four 3-pointers. Toms Linis added 13 points while Dorin Nguema had 11 and Isaiah St. Preux had 10 points. Nguema had a double-double in the win as he also led the team with 13 rebounds.

                EWC had five players in double figures, led by Dresdon Jersen with 20 points followed by Isiah Ayala with 13, Jumarion Weh and Jaironn Speights each with 11, and Ryan Aye with 10 points.

                The contest was a battle in the first half. EWC led by nine points at 25-16. WNCC came back and trailed 30-27 on a dunk by Amare Jackson and a 3-pointer by Lukic-Gavric. . WNCC finally took the lead at 39-38 with over a minute to play on a steal and bucket by Lukic-Gavric. EWC led 43-42 at intermission.

                WNCC held a 53-51 lead early in the second half. EWC scored nine straight to lead 60-53 and led by nine, 71-62 with 6:20 to play. That was when WNCC went on a 10-0 run that saw Lukic-Gavric hit two triples. The two teams were knotted at 76-76 on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Drezdon Jensen with two minutes left. WNCC took a 78-76 lead on a Dorin Nguema bucket. EWC tied things at 78 on two free throws. Both teams went over a minute without scoring. WNCC took an 80-78 lead with 14.3 seconds to play. EWC came down and turned the ball over. Linis was fouled with 3.1 seconds and hit one free throw and a last second heave by EWC come up inches short of going in.

                WNCC will be back in action this weekend when they head to Arizona to face Eastern Arizona College and Cochise College. EWC will be back in action this weekend when they head to Price, Utah, to face Utah State Eastern and Colorado Northwestern.

WNCC                42 39 – 81
EWC                  43 35 – 78
WNCC
Xavier Kirkpatrick 8, Viktor Lukic-Gavric 27, Amare Jackson 7, Dorin Nguema 11, Toms Linis 13, Melchi Egbeyemi 3, Kellon Harris 2, Isaiah St. Preux 10.
EWC
Vukaisin Spasojevic 8, Jumarion Weh 11, Jaironn Speights 11, Drezdon Jensen 10, Isiah Ayala 13, Adam Coxon 2, Toney Colleyns 3, Ryan Aye 10,