TWIN FALLS, Idaho – The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team put five players in double figures and held off Community Christian College 86-77 to open the play in the Wright Physical Therapy Shootout in Twin Falls, Idaho, Friday afternoon.

                WNCC will finish play in the shootout when they face the host team College of Southern Idaho Saturday evening.

                WNCC and Community Christian battled early on in the first half as CCC led 4-0 before WNCC took a 5-4 lead on a Carter Brown trey and a bucket by Biko Johnson. CCC came back to lead 6-5 and the final tie of the game was at 8-8.

                That was when WNCC found the shooting touch as WNCC went on a 17-2 run to lead 25-10 . CCC cut the lead to eight points at 29-21 but WNCC came back to lead 35-21 on a Johnson trey.

                CCC came back to gut the lead to 35-28 before WNCC came back on a 7-0 run behind three points from Carl Thorpe and a dunk by Rodney Sawyer for a 42-28 lead.

                CCC cut the lead to single digits one more time at 45-37 before WNCC led 48-39 at halftime.

                CCC scored the first bucket of the second half, but WNCC would go on to push the lead to 70-47.

                That was when the buckets wouldn't fall for WNCC and CCC made a comeback, slicing the lead to 80-68 and then later to just seven points, 82-75, with 1:30 to play. Agwa Nywesh would hit two free throws with 1:14 to play to extend the lead. CNCC got a bucket, but Mamadou Sow hit a late bucket and the Cougars got the win 86-77.

                WNCC shot 43 percent from the field but were just 21 percent from beyond the arc. CCC shot 39 percent and were 32 percent from beyond the arc. WNCC had just four treys to CCC's nine.

                WNCC won the rebound battle 63-48. Sawyer and Nywesh led the way with nine boards each with Thorpe pulling down eight and Them Koang with seven.

                Thorpe led the Cougars in scoring with 15 followed by Johnson with 14. Koang tallied 12 while Sawyer and Nywesh each had 10 points.

CCC                        39 38 – 77

WNCC (5-1)         48 38 – 86

WNCC

Carter Brown 6, Agwa Nywesh 10, Turumbil Zaki 2, Them Koang 12, Biko Johnson 14, Carl Thorpe 15, Chancelor Johnson 4, Rodney Sawyer 10, Valentine Romero 2, Mamadou 2, Jasiya DeOllos 2, Dimitrije Nikolic 7.

CCC

Nicholas Watson 6, Lamont Evans 18, Edward Brown 3, Aamon Smith 4, Darren Tobias 6, Maurice Ladd 7, Dionte Hill 3, Jayoni Moore 18, Leighton Bess 12.