Central Wyoming College Men’s basketball
The Rustlers played their last non-conference home game of the year this past week and hosted the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen in a grudge match Wednesday night. CWC had previously met in a defensive clash with the Plainsmen on November 5 in Sterling, Colorado, which resulted in NJC squeaking by with a win, 51-45.
Central Wyoming’s offense erupted in the first half, led by a Freshman from Casper, Wyoming, Isaac Patik. He led all scorers with 24 points on 75% field goal percentage and dominated on the boards as well, pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds. Australian native Jordan Peel also had himself a game, notching his first career double-double by recording 14 points and 10 assists. The Rustlers carried a nine-point lead into halftime thanks to these performances. The Plainsmen’s struggles from the charity stripe also aided CWC towards the end of the game. 52.2% shooting on 23 free throw attempts from NJC in a game where both teams reached the double bonus in both halves was something that will keep the Plainsmen up at night. Julian Ormond and Deniz Kimyoncuoglu both scored in the double digits and helped their team scrap their way to a 75-66 win.
Friday the Rustlers were back on the road, but not as far as some of their previous trips. Northwest College hosted a classic on November 22 and 23 in Powell, Wyoming. Another chance for a vengeance was at stake Friday afternoon. Dawson Community College, who CWC had gone toe-to-toe no less than two weeks prior in Glendive, Montana, was back for round two.
It seemed like everything was clicking for Dawson offensively, as they jumped out to a 30-point lead by the end of the first half. The Rustlers did their best to keep up but were limited by their efficiency struggles, shooting 30% from the field as well as committing 11 turnovers to Dawson’s 6. The second half carried the same tune as the first, and despite a higher scoring output, Central Wyoming dropped their first game of the weekend, 93-50.
They followed up this loss with a defensive masterclass against Bismarck State College the following day. The Rustlers forced 21 turnovers out of the Mystics, and blanketed their shooters in tight coverage, limiting them to 27.7% from the field. Great defense creates offense, and that’s exactly what unfolded for CWC. Jordan Peel, Julian Ormond and Mohamed Mahadhi all reached the double digits in points, and Isaac Patik recorded his second double-double of the year. The Rustlers almost doubled their opponents point total with their 61-37 win on Saturday afternoon. They now take a 4-7 overall record into Thanksgiving break and will play next at Snow College on Saturday, November 30.
Women’s Basketball
The CWC women’s basketball team took a joint trip up to Powell, Wyoming with the men’s team this past weekend and faced the same pair of colleges that the men’s team did as well.
Laura Ring and her 18-point double-double had previously dominated Dawson Community College a couple of weeks back, but the Rustlers were without their key post player this past Friday. Sophie Wilkinson reeled in 13 total rebounds and was able to step up and command the boards in Ring’s absence. The other major difference between Friday’s matchup and two weeks prior was that Dawson was hitting their three-point shots this time around. A jump from 9% to 50% in from three-point range slowly dug into the lead the Rustlers had built. By the time the fourth quarter buzzer sounded signaling the end of the game, Dawson had come back and snuck past CWC, 73-66.
Natalia Ballin did all she could Saturday afternoon to carry her team to a win against Bismarck State College. She dropped a career-high 29 points on 56.5% shooting, but it simply wasn’t enough to counter the performance of Maya Vibeto on the Mystics, who drained seven three-pointers on her way to posting a game-high 31 points. After a 53-24 halftime deficit, the Rustlers stormed back to outscore Bismarck 50-41 in the second half. The spread-out scoring attack of their opponents overwhelmed the Rustlers and added a 94-74 final to the loss column.
The women’s basketball team will be back at home for the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic this Friday and Saturday, where they will play Lamar Community College Friday night at 7:30 pm and Wyoming All-Stars Saturday afternoon at 4 pm.
On the Schedule this week:
- Men’s Basketball
- Saturday, Nov. 30th– vs Snow College @ Ephraim, UT @ 2pm
- Women’s Basketball
- Friday, Nov. 29th– HOME vs Lamar Community College @ 7:30pm
- Saturday, Nov. 30th– HOME vs Wyoming All-stars @ 4pm