TORRINGTON – The Eastern Wyoming College Lancers fell in their final game of the season to Western Nebraska Community College at home on Saturday, 105-89, in a game that had eight lead changes and seven ties.
The Lancers and Cougars had a back and forth first half. With two minutes to go before halftime, the Lancers were up by four, but watched that lead slip and WNCC took a 48-42 advantage into intermission.
“We played a great first half,” coach Neal Sherbeyn said. “It was a bad two minute span and wham, we were down six. It was just bad possessions for us.”
In the second half, the away team ballooned their lead to 27 points, as the score sat at 93-66. The Lancers chipped away at the lead for the rest of the game, but were outscored by 10 in the second half.
“We made a couple good runs, but it was just too late,” Sherbeyn said.
Grant Olsson was the leading scorer for EWC, racking up 23 points. He shot 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Olsson tied for the team-high in boards, with five. He also had two steals.
“Grant brings toughness,” Sherbeyn said of the sophomore who got the start in his first game back from injury. “He definitely brings a lot of things to the table.”
Walker Korell came off the bench and chipped in 19 points for the Lancers. He added five rebounds, a clock and a steal to his stat line. Petar Skoknic, with 17 points, and Jordan Mirich, with 10, joined Olsson and Korell in double-figures.
Korell and Skoknic combined to shoot 4-of-9 from behind three-point land and 9-of-15 from inside the arc. Skoknic accounted for three rebounds and an assist.
Trey Schroefel (9), Jovan Elezovic (6), Will Osborn (3) and Daniel Wright (2) rounded out the scoring for the Lancers.
In the loss, the Lancers shot 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the arc. They did miss only two free throws on 16 attempts against WNCC. The Cougars outrebounded EWC 48-31 on Saturday, but the Lancers did account for 15 second-chance points to WNCC’s four.
The loss against the Cougars ends the Lancers’ season. EWC finished 4-26 during the 2016-17 campaign.
