Sluggish start leads to setback on the road

The SCTCC Cyclone men’s basketball team travelled to Ely, MN Friday night to take on Vermillion CC.  The Vermillion men’s team was ranked #5 in the most recent NJCAA poll.  The Cyclones came out a little sluggish turning the ball over early against the full court pressure of the Ironmen.  The longer, more athletic, Vermillion team would use the early momentum and take a 16 point lead into halftime.

In the first half, the Cyclones were led by freshman guard Jett Leaf (Howard Lake, MN) with 8 points, and Sophomore captain Brandon Marek (Annandale, MN) with 7 points off the bench.  As a team, SCTCC was not finishing open looks from both inside the paint (36%) or behind the arc (25%).

After regrouping at half, the team came out with a greater focus and it showed on the floor.  After falling behind by 18 points early in the second half, the Cyclones battled back to within 4 late in the game.  Jett Leaf continued his good scoring night and finished the game with 30 points on 10-17 shooting, 3/7 3FGs.  Riley West came alive in the second half finishing with 15 points and 7 assists.

In the end the game was decided on the glass, with Vermillion out-rebounding the Cyclones 52-30 and making 21-28 from the FT line.  The Cyclones held Vermillion’s two leading scorers Emeche Meger and Shawn Bear to 6 points respectively (they came in averaging 15ppg a piece).

Scoring for the Cyclones: Jett Leaf 30 points – Riley West 15 points, 7 assists – Brandon Marek 9 points – Jared Noonan 9 points – Leland Harris 5 points – Nate Vang 4 points – Nic Monssen 4 points – Zach Jiskra 2 points.

SCTCC is on the road Saturday afternoon in Virginia, MN taking on Mesabi Range CTC at 3 pm.