GILLETTE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College put together another strong defensive as the Cougars advanced to the Region IX Men's Tournament semifinals with an 86-67 win over Northwest College Thursday evening in Gillette, Wyoming.

                Three Cougars led the way for the Cougars with 19 points. Mathiang Maker tallied a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Elijah Burney and Kellon Harris each had 19 points.

                WNCC advances to face North top seed Gillette College in one of the semifinals on Friday. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. tip. The other semifinal will pit Casper College against Trinidad State at 5 p.m. Casper College was a 90-73 winner over Lamar Community College while Trinidad State topped Laramie County 95-69.

                The WNCC men came ready to play as they jumped all over Northwest in the first half, grabbing a 42-22 halftime lead. The second half was an evenly played contest with Northwest outscoring the Cougars 45-44.

                Shooting was the difference in the game. WNCC shot 52 percent from the field and 46 percent from beyond the arc. The Cougars buried 10 3-pointers. Northwest only shot 36 percent from the field and were 21 percent from the 3-point arc. The Trappers made just five triples.

WNCC                                42 44 – 86
Northwest                        22 45 – 67
WNCC
Kellon Harris 19, Elijah Hollins 11, Mathiang Maker 19, Elijah Burney 19, Toms Linis 6,Noah Jones 5, Isaiah St. Preux 5, Witold Czerenkiewicz 2.
NORTHWEST
Tresloch Thong 1, Preston Condie 13, Trey Rinn 6, Drew Larson 16, Colin Hayes 7, Kaden Christensen 8, Tate Monroe 12, Eli Patterson 2, Ruben Bos 2.