Otero snaps WNCC's 15-game win streak

Complete boxscore

From the desk of MARK REIN

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team ran into hostile territory Wednesday night and saw its 15-game winning streak come to a screeching halt losing to Otero Junior College 63-62.

But, it wasn’t without a fight, said WNCC coach Trace Bevell, and the Cougars will have to start a new win streak Saturday night at Western Wyoming Community College.

"The win streak was nice, but we just have to start over and keep playing," he said. "I think what this game did for us last night was give us a sense of urgency. Otero is a good team. I give them credit. They are very physical. They grab you, shove you, push you and when you get them down there in their own environment it is worse than it was here. But, I am proud of how the guys handled it. We didn’t get down. We battled back and battled back. We just didn’t get the stop late in the game like we needed to."

WNCC trailed 35-28 at halftime and fell behind 51-39 in the second half. That is when the Cougars mounted a comeback in what is known as "The Pit" on the Otero Junior College campus. Sophomore Tony Helton started the run with a 3-pointer and that started a 11-2 run capped off by a Brandon Key 3-pointer to tie the game at 53 with 6:03.

After that the lead went back and forth. With 44 seconds to play, the Cougars trailed 63-61 and were called for traveling. Otero missed several shots and the Cougars got the rebound with 18 seconds to play. Helton had a good look at a 3-pointer, but it wouldn’t fall. J.P. Batista got the rebound and was fouled with three seconds to play.

Batista, who led the team with 26 points and 11 rebounds, missed the first free throw and accidently made the second off a bank shot as the Cougars came up one-point short.

"It was a very tough game for us. I just didn’t think we played our type of game. We didn’t shoot the ball well enough to win the game. Our free throws cost us late in the game. But, it should have never came down to that," Bevell said. "I have never seen a more poorly reffed game in my life. We don’t make excuses. We don’t blame things. We go out there and play. But, watching the tape (Thursday) there was some obvious, obvious bad calls that were allowed to happen.

"We went down there in a situation of a hostile environment and it basically came down to their three refs were better than our two guards. But, I am proud of our effort. We battled and battled. We played very hard. I cannot dispute that. We showed heart and character."

Otero 63, WNCC 62
Otero        35 28 -- 63
WNCC    28 34 -- 62

OTERO JUNIOR COLLEGE
Matt Austin 7, Nate Yoder 2, Corey Campbell 6, Larry Williams 12, Devin Gonzales 5, Dusty Heck 8, Nick Ball 10, Scott Ferguson 7, Kenne callum 6.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
RaShaun Broadus 7, Golden Corner 2, Ryan Thompson 5, Brandon Key 7, Tony Helton5, Brad Ryan 2, Rodrigo Segantim 8, J.P. Batista 26.