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MCC men, women fall to NJC
The McCook Community College men's and women's basketball teams both lost to Northeastern Junior College Tuesday night at True Hall Gymnasium.
NJC won the men's game 66-57 and the women won 68-55.
Adam Vaden led the MCC men with 15 points and 3 assists. Kyle Wamsley added 9 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Barrow added 9 points. Cambridge sophomore Marcus Vontz contributed 6 points and 5 rebounds. Christian Lewis had 4 points.
"We played one of the top teams in Region IX in the country and we faired very well," said MCC men's coach Ty Orton. "This was our first game back after a month off and the men stepped up to the occasion.
"We had great performances from the entire team, but Chris Barrow really stood out. He did great things on both ends and really picked up baskets when we needed to.
"Christian Lewis also had a great night. He only finished with 4 points, but he was responsible for guarding Tyler Smith. And he did a great job on stopping him. Christian is a great athlete and a great defender.
"Also our bench play was very strong. Jeremy Mallard came off the bench and played well. Kyle Wamsley had a great night and set the tone early with his tremendous effort on the boards and on the defensive end.
"Our two top scorers were focused on the entire night. They focused a large amount on Marcus Vontz and Adam Vaden. Both are very good players and did a great job on both ends.
"I understand that this will count as a loss but this was a great step for our team to get ready for conference play.
"I told the team after the game, we do not hang a banner for beating NJC, we hang one for winning conference play and this is what these games are preparing us for."
The MCC men will compete in the North Platte Classic Friday and Saturday.
NJC women 68,
McCook CC 55
The MCC women overcame large deficits to hang with NJC. McCook trailed by just 6 in the first half and whittled NJC's lead to 9 with 2 minutes left in the game.
Kamillia Brown had 10 points and 3 assists. Cambridge freshman Staci Moore had 8 points, 4 assists and 6 steals.
Erin Nealey had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
"I thought the team did a great job last night," said MCC women's coach Michelle Orton. "They battled the entire night and came back a couple of times. We had a slow start at the beginning of both halves, which hurt us and had to work extrememly hard to get back into the game.
"We had several ladies step up and either get some big rebounds at key moments or hit a couple shots to keep us in it. Our turnovers and them outrebounding caught up with us at the end.
"I'm proud of how hard the team is battling in every game. I think that hard work is going to pay off in the long run."
The MCC women play a road game Saturday at Crete against the Doane College junior varsity. Tip-off is noon.