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