The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team will be looking to stay among a pack of teams in line for a top four finish in the South Sub-region when they host Laramie County Community College on Friday at Cougar Palace.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. for the key South sub-region contest.
Just how important is this contest. Looking at the South standings, Otero Junior College, who received votes in this week's NJCAA national poll, leads the division with a 6-0 mark. After that, though, it is a dogfight with seven teams within two games of second place.
Laramie County currently is second in the South with a 6-3 conference record and 14-7 overall. WNCC is just two games out of second, coming in at 3-5 in the conference and 13-7 overall.
Five other teams are sitting between LCCC and WNCC with three and four losses. That is why the final month of the season means a lot in conference standings.
"We are motivated for Friday," WNCC head coach Russ Beck said after Monday's 89-75 win over Casper College. "We don't like our positioning of where we are at in terms of standings in the south. We felt like we given away like four games with lack of poise down the stretch. We are learning and growing and we are better and now we are going to go and take some games back from some people that we gifted them."
WNCC enters the contest playing some of its best basketball, winning five of seven games since falling to LCCC on Dec. 5 71-68. The two losses to start January came in the last seconds as Northeastern Junior College won 90-89 and Lamar Community College won 95-90.
Since those two heartbreaking losses, WNCC has been playing well from start to finish, beginning with a 93-84 win over Eastern Wyoming College and then a thrilling 78-77 win over Dawson Community College on the road.
Most recently, WNCC tripped up Casper College 89-75 on Monday, where four players finished in double figures. Michael Sparks led the team with 16 points, including two 3-pointers and a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line.
Phil Fayne and Tyrell Williams, the two big men inside, combined for 30 points and 18 rebounds. Both players finished with 15 points, while Williams had a double-double adding 11 rebounds and going 7 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Laramie County is 6-3 since topping WNCC back in December. The Golden Eagles defeated Eastern Wyoming College on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles three South losses came to Eastern Wyoming on Nov. 18 (80-74), Otero on Dev. 9 (86-73), and Lamar last Saturday (82-75).
The Golden Eagles have three players scoring in double figures. Gavin Peppers is averaging 16.9 points a game while knocking down 40 3-pointers and connecting on 91 of 115 free throws. The sophomore has also dished out 70 assists and collected 59 rebounds.
Also hitting for double figures is Iziah Sherman-Newsome at 11.6 points a game and Josh McNair at 10.8 points a game.
The Cougars have just as much scoring depth with four players averaging double figures. Fayne and Williams are the team leaders as Fayne is averaging 12.7 points a game and Williams at 11.1 points. Andrew Ramirez is next in line at 10 points, but is out with an injury until February. Michael Sparks has also packed a punch with his 3-point shooting and free throws in averaging 10 points a game.
Sparks leads the team with 31 3-pointers and is connecting on 87.5 free throw shooting (49 of 56).
After Friday, WNCC will host Fort Berthoud Community College at 3 p.m. on Saturday. They will then be on the road for four straight South Division contests against Trinidad, Otero, McCook, and North Platte.