It was great to see the continued effort from our guys. Offensively, it was good to see hard work pay off as we shot well from the arc and continued to defend at a high level.”

Coach Bill Engel

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The Lancers open the NJCAA Region IX tournament with a play-in game against Casper College at the Thunderbird Gym on Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m.

ROCK SPRINGS – The Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Lancers fought the Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC) Mustangs to a 79-79 draw at the end of regulation during the February 28 away game.

A 10-5 run by the Lancers in overtime, anchored by a pair of 3-pointers, sealed the conference victory for EWC, 89-84.

On Saturday, EWC rounded out the regular season with a game against Casper College. The first half ended with the Thunderbirds ahead by only one possession, 36-34. The second half remained close but Casper College ultimately widened its lead to eight at the final buzzer to win, 73-65.

“Our guys played well over the weekend, earning a split,” coach Bill Engel said. “It was great to see the continued effort from our guys. Offensively, it was good to see hard work pay off as we shot well from the arc and continued to defend at a high level. We have a long way to go but are pleased with the progress and excited to see our guys competing at a high level.”

The Lancers open the NJCAA Region IX tournament with a play-in game against Casper College at the Thunderbird Gym on Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m.

WWCC

The Lancers left it all on the court in the first half against WWCC, outscoring the Mustangs by a nine-point margin, 45-36.

WWCC rallied in the second half to close the deficit and match EWC in scoring, 79-79, at the final buzzer.

The game went into overtime, with the Lancer defense shutting out WWCC on the Mustangs’ first three possessions. Freshmen Vukasin Spasojevic and Russell Moorer both pulled down defensive rebounds on missed shots while Spasojevic reached up for a block.

Taking possession, freshman Alain Nziza fired off a 3-pointer to place the Lancers ahead, 82-79, three minutes into the overtime period.

WWCC scored a point from the free-throw line but Moorer forced a turnover on the Mustangs’ subsequent possession with a steal.

Freshman Javier Gonzalez netted a deep outside shot for the Lancers, widening EWC’s lead to two possessions, 85-80, at 1:50.

WWCC managed to score a bucket before Spasojevic found an opening in the Mustangs’ perimeter to score, placing EWC up, 87-82, with 1:08 remaining.

Freshman Jouk Mayan grabbed a defensive rebound and went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe, pulling the Lancers ahead, 89-84, with six seconds to play.

WWCC attempted to score from outside the perimeter, but the ball bounced off the rim and was rebounded by Nziza for EWC to end the overtime period in possession.

Four Lancers tallied double-digit scoring against WWCC, led by freshman Jaironn Speights with 24 points. Moorer collected 13 points, Nziza 12 and Spasojevic 11.

Freshman LaThario Miller netted nine points, Gonzalez seven, Mayan four with three apiece by freshmen Jumarion Weh, Eli Igiranez and Nathan Mirich.

Moorer led on the boards with seven rebounds. Speights delivered four assists while Moorer wrangled four steals. Spasojevich totaled two blocks.

Casper College

The first quarter between EWC and Casper College resulted in a point-for-point battle with the Thunderbirds pulling up by a single possession, 36-34, at halftime.

Casper College widened its lead in the second half by outmaneuvering the Lancers on the scoreboard, 37-31.

Speights paced the EWC offense against Casper College with 16 points. Weh also tallied double digits with 12 points.

Moorer collected nine points, Miller and Spasojevic six apiece, Gonzalez five and Mayan and Nziza each four. Mirich rounded the scorebook out with a 3-pointer.

On the boards, Weh pulled down eight rebounds. Speights and Gonzalez both passed the ball for three assists and Gonzalez grabbed three steals.