GILLETTE, WY – It was a tough night on the road for a shorthanded Laramie County Community College as they dropped a 111-83 decision to the Gillette College Pronghorns on Tuesday night.
"I thought the energy was good, but we seemed just off. When you have a guy who handles the ball 60 to 70 percent of the time for you, it can seem off," Head Coach DeWayne Saulsberry said. "But this wasn't about offense. We gave up 60 points in the first half, 51 in the second. I don't care who you are playing, you give up that many points you aren't going to win the basketball game."
The Golden Eagles got off to a hot start, leading 8-2 after the first two minutes, carrying a 12-7 lead into the first media timeout with a pair of free throws from Aeremiah Binford.
Gillette rallied after the timeout and took their first lead of the game on a 12-3 run keyed by a few steals and the inside presence of Dane Christensen who had nearly half of the early offense from the Pronghorns on the way to a 20-17 lead.
Balanced scoring continued to be a struggle for the Golden Eagles, who were playing without starting point guard Davion Butler after he was a late scratch to the starting lineup. The biggest impact came inside where LCCC gave up 28 points to Drew Fuquay and Christensen in the first half as Gillette spread the ball around to eight different players who scored in the first half.
The lead grew to 21 by the end of the half despite the Golden Eagles shooting 51 percent from the field after the Pronghorns finished the first 20 minutes shooting 66 percent from the field.
There was a renewed energy from the Golden Eagles at the opening of the second half as their defense led four turnovers by the Pronghorns in their first six possessions. The momentum continued their way to a push that cut the score to 70-57 with 14 minutes remaining and forced Gillette to take a timeout to stop the surge.
"I think they understood we couldn't just let them drive to the hole," Saulsberry said of the change. "I just don't think we were prepared as I would have liked us to have been."
The timeout worked and the LCCC offense had a rash of turnovers over the next few minutes as the Pronghorns reeled off an 8-2 run to build the lead back to 19. Both sides made small pushes over the next five minutes, but every Golden Eagle run was answered with a run by Gillette and the lead reached a game high of 30 with two minutes left.
By games end, the Pronghorns had put up the biggest point total on the Golden Eagles of the season and cruised to the 111-83 win.
Coulter finished the night as the leading scorer for the Golden Eagles with 26 points and was joined by Phoenix Bullock with 24 of his own. Bullock also added three steals and four rebounds to his tally.
Andre Bennett also finished in double figures, matching his career high of 17 points while leading the team in rebounding with seven. No bench players scored for the Golden Eagles in the game.
"It's important to get bench production. I don't think our bench guys were ready to get on the road and play, but it is what it is. We have to get better. It's a quick turnaround, we have two more games this week and we have to be ready to play those games," Saulsberry said.
Despite forcing 18 turnovers, the Golden Eagles still lost that stat with 22 of their own and gave up a plus-16 advantage in the rebounding category, including nine offensive rebounds for the Pronghorns in the second half. Gillette also finished the game shooting 59 percent from the field and a blistering 45 percent from 3, going 10-22.
"It just didn't seem like we were ready to execute and it's something we have to do. We don't have a ton of home games left so we have to learn how to win on the road if we are going to win," Sauslberry said.
The Golden Eagles are back on the road on Friday and Saturday when they travel to Central Wyoming College and Northwest to begin the second half of the conference schedule. Game times are set for 7:30 pm on Friday from Riverton and 4:00 pm from Powell.
More information, including streaming links, can be found at www.golccc.com.