Saturday, January 19, 2013

Cyclones End Skid with Home Win

Coming off an 0-3 start to the conference season, SCTCC entered Saturday's home game versus Western Wisconsin Technical College Cavaliers needing to get back in the win column.  The Cyclones provided an entertaining afternoon for the home fans by pulling out a 95-91 victory at the Whitney Recreation Center. 

The Cyclones began the game focused, and it showed on both ends of the floor.  The hot shooting on the offensive end was provided by a few different players as the home team hit 53% from the floor including 6 of 10 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.  Freshman Riley West (Lakeville, MN) provided the bulk of the scoring with 17 first half points.  Freshman Leland Harris (Brooklyn Park, MN) came off the bench to hit 3 of 3 from beyond the 3 point line.  Fellow Freshman Zach Jiskra (Sartell, MN) added to the total with 10 points.  SCTCC jumped out to a 30-15 lead, only to have the lead cut to 54-46 at half.

The second half was more of the same, with both teams continuing the high paced and high scoring exchange.  Western would shoot 5 of 11 from three and manage to cut the Cyclone lead to 3 with only seconds remaining.  Ray Goines had  three free throw attempts to potentially tie the game.  Western would miss all three and Riley West would hit 1 of 2 from the line to put the game out of reach.  The Cavaliers were led by Cody Krueger with 29 points overall, but only one other player reach double figures for the visitors as they came up short.

West would finish the afternoon with a season high 36 points.  Freshman Jett Leaf (Howard Lake, MN) added 17 points.  Freshman Alex Matchinsky (St. Cloud, MN) and Leland Harris both contributed 14 points.  Zach Jiskra had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Game Stats vs WW
SCTCC will hit the road this week to face MN-West CC on Wednesday night in Worthington, and follow that up with a trip to Fergus Falls Saturday to play MN State-Fergus Falls.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Cyclones Unable to Finish at CLC

In the final game of the Central Lakes College winter classic, SCTCC was matched up against the host school CLC Raiders.  Being the second night of a back to back, the Cyclones were expecting a close game, and that is exactly what they got.  However, they failed to pull out the road win with a 86-78 loss

SCTCC began the game knocking down shots and fought hard to stop the Raiders on the defensive end.  Let in the half however, the Cyclones were battling foul trouble and not shooting with the same consistency as earlier in the half.  Freshman Jett Leaf (Howard Lake, MN) led the offensive attack with 11 points and fellow freshman Alex Matchinsky (St. Cloud, MN) added 10 points.  The half ended with the home team taking a 40-31 lead into the locker room.  SCTCC shot only 33% from the field and allowed CLC to shoot 44% from the floor.

The Cyclones continued playing hard throughout the second half, outscoring CLC in the half.  The 1st half deficit proved to be too much to come back from, as the Raiders knocked down their free throws to close out the game.  Jett Leaf and freshman Jared Noonan (Richfield, MN) led the way with 24 points a piece.  Alex Matchinsky had 18 points and 8 rebounds.  Nate Vang (Eyota, MN) added a season high 11 rebounds. 

The Cyclones will open up MCAC southern division play this Wednesday at Ridgewater College.  The top four teams in each division will qualify for the MCAC state tournament at the end of the season.
Game Stats vs CLC

Friday, January 4, 2013

Cyclones Begin 2013 with a Buzzer Beating Loss

Coming off of winter break, the SCTCC Cyclones hit the hardwood again at the Central Lakes Winter Classic in Brainerd.  The first match-up put the Cyclones against NJCAA #3 ranked Vermillion Ironmen.  The last time these two teams met, the Ironmen pulled out an 8 point win.  SCTCC knew it was going to be a hard-fought game, and it turned out to be a heart breaker in the end.

The first half saw the Cyclones jump out to an early 20-8 lead with great ball movement and defensive intensity.  The Ironmen worked their way back into the game forcing 11 first half turnovers, and converting many of the Cyclone mistakes into baskets.  The first half ended with the Ironmen taking a slim lead at 37-36.  The Cyclones were lead by starting guard trio of Riley West (8 points), Jett Leaf (8 points) and Jared Noonan (7 points). 

The second half was much of the same, SCTCC and VCC played a closely contested game.  The Cyclones would tie the game up late, and have to play the final 30.7 seconds on the defensive end as Vermillion held the ball for the last shot.  VCC went to a ball screen on the wing, in which the Cyclones covered very well.  The Ironmen's Derek Meger caught the ball on the baseline and drove towards the basket throwing up a runner as time expired.  The ball caught the front of the rim and rattled in sending the Cyclones to a 79-77 loss.

SCTCC was lead by Jared Noonan (Richfield, MN) with 19 points and 8 rebounds.  Jett Leaf (Howard Lake, MN) added 14 points and 6 rebounds.  Riley West (Lakeville, MN) finished with 12 points, 6 assists.  Alex Matchinsky 10 pts, 5 rebs - Leland Harris 10 pts - Zach Jiskra 6 pts - Nate Vang 4 pts, 5 rebs - Brandon Marek 2 pts.

SCTCC will play Central Lakes College Saturday at 4:00 pm in Brainerd.
Game Stats vs Vermillion