Thursday, February 28, 2013

Cyclones Season 2012-13 Ends

The SCTCC men's basketball team wrapped up the season last week with a buzzer-beating 1 point defeat to MCAC 2nd place M-State Fergus Falls, and followed that up with a road defeat at 1st place Rochester.  Winning 3 out of the last 5 games of the conference season will be looked back upon as a stepping stone for the freshman heavy team.  The Cyclones played the conference season with 8 players, including 7 freshman. 
The lone sophomore Nolan Peterson (Mora, MN), will be missed for his hard work and dedication to the team.  Nolan will be graduating this spring with a second degree in Electrical Construction Technology after previously completing the requirements for his AA degree.  Nolan will finish with a 3.41 GPA.  We are very proud of the two years that Nolan has put in at SCTCC.

To finish the season, many of the Cyclones had outstanding year's on the floor as well. 
SCORING
FR Jared Noonan (2nd in Southern Division) 17.6ppg
FR Riley West (7th) 16.1ppg
FR Jett Leaf (10th) 14.7
3 PT FG%
FR Zach Jiskra (3rd in Southern Divsion) 40.0%
FR Leland Harris (4th in Southern Division) 38.1%
FR Alex Matchinsky - 35.2%
STEALS
FR Jett Leaf (4th in Southern Division) - 51 (2.0 per game)
FR Jared Noonan - 42
FR Riley West - 39
ASSISTS
FR Riley West (3rd in Southern Division) 4.8apg
FR Jett Leaf - 2.7 apg
FR Jared Noonan - 2.5 apg
REBOUNDING
Nate Vang - 6 rpg
Jared Noonan - 5.8 rpg
Jett Leaf - 4.8 rpg

Overall, the team was ranked in the top 20 among NJCAA schools in a few categories:
Scoring - 18th (79 ppg)     Field Goal Attempts - 15th (69.2 Shots per game)
Free Throws Made Per Game - 9th (16.6 made)     Free Throws Attempted Per Game - 4th (25.6 att)

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Hot Shooting Leads to 3rd Straight Win

On Saturday afternoon the SCTCC Cyclones played host to the MN-West Community College Blue Jays.  In their last meeting the game was decided on a last-second buzzer-beating shot by the Blue Jays, giving them a 2 point win.  The Cyclones knew coming in that this would be a close game, and it certainly was. 

The first half began the right way for the home team, as SCTCC jumped out to an early 15-6 lead.  The starting back-court led the way in the opening half as Freshman Jett Leaf (Howard Lake, MN) and Freshman Riley West (Lakeville, MN) both poured in 14 points including a combined 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.  Costly turnovers kept the game within reach however, as the Blue Jays capitalized on 10 Cyclone turnovers, and converted them into 16 points.  MN-West was able to shoot a very high percentage in the first half, 60%, and finished the half down 46-44.  The Cyclones countered with 50% shooting, including 8 three-pointers.

The second half saw both team make some great runs offensively.  The Cyclones went on a 12-3 run out of the break, but that was short lived lead as MN-West worked its way back into the game with some three-point shooting of its own.  SCTCC regained their focus and began to rally together defensive stops, holding the visitors to 31.7% shooting in the second half.  On the offensive side of things,the Cyclones tied a season high for assists as a team with 24.  Riley West had 9 assists for the second game in a row, Jared Noonan (Richfield, MN) had 6, and Jett Leaf added 4.  Freshman Alex Matchinsky (St.Cloud, MN) came off the bench with 16 points, including 3-of-5 from three.  Noonan led the way with 26 points, West 22, and Leaf with 19.  SCTCC converted on a season-high 12 three-pointers, and ended the night shooting 48% from the field.

The Cyclones will finish up the home schedule on Wednesday evening at 7:30pm vs Minnesota State-Fergus Falls. 

Game Stats vs MN-West

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Cyclones Tally Another Road Win



SCTCC traveled to Lacrosse, WI for a MCAC southern division contest against the Western Wisconsin Technical College Cavaliers.  Coming into the game the Cavaliers and Cyclones were tied in conference play.  After a solid defensive effort in their last game at Anoka-Ramsey, the Cyclones were looking to continue with that same intensity. 
The first half did not begin the way SCTCC hoped as the Cavaliers began with hot shooting from all over the floor.  After getting down 36-26 9 minutes into the game, the Cyclones regrouped on both ends of the floor.  They held the home team to just 10 points the rest of the half, and went into the locker room trailing by 1, 46-45.  SCTCC was led by Freshman Riley West (Lakeville, MN) with 11 points and 8 rebounds, and Freshman Jett Leaf (Howard Lake, MN) with 10 points and 8 rebounds.  Freshman Jared Noonan (Richfield, MN) added 11 points and Freshman Alex Matchinsky (St. Cloud, MN) came off the bench with 7 points and 4 assists.
Midway through the  second half, SCTCC built a 69-57 lead.  However, coming down the stretch they would need all of that lead as Western Tech made another run to cut the lead in the final minutes.  The Cyclones would finish the game by hitting their free throws, and controlling the glass on the defensive end, ending with a 93-88 win.
It was another balanced effort in the victory Jett Leaf finished the game with 22 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Cyclones in both categories.   Jared Noonan ended with 18 points and 8 rebounds.  Riley West almost came away with a triple-double in an 18 point, 12 rebound, 9 assist night.  Matchinsky followed up with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.  Zach Jiskra added 12 points; Leland Harris and Nate Vang finished with 4 points, Vang adding 10 rebounds.
SCTCC plays home at Whitney Center on Saturday, February 16th versus MN-West at 3pm.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Cyclones Earn Road Win vs Anoka-Ramsey

The SCTCC Cyclone men's basketball team traveled down Highway 10 to take on the Anoka-Ramsey Rams on Saturday afternoon.  On this day it was the Cyclones who got out to a hot start, opening the game with a 16-4 advantage.  Although the ball was going in on the offensive end, it was the defensive effort that built the lead.  SCTCC did a great job holding the Rams top scorers from getting good looks at the basket, finished the half with 6 steals and held the Rams to a 35.5 field goal percentage.  On the offensive side of things, the Cyclones were sharing and moving the ball, and it showed up in the box score.  Freshman Jared Noonan (Richfield, MN) led the way with 11 points and 7 rebounds, and Freshman center Nate Vang (Eyota, MN) added 8 points and 5 rebounds.  The unofficial highlight of the first half was a tip-in dunk by Freshman Leland Harris (Brooklyn Park, MN), that was eventually called for goal-tending.  Nate Vang followed up a miss with a put back dunk shortly after, and the Cyclones headed to the locker room with a 42-32 advantage

The second half began with more of the same from SCTCC with an offensive board from Jett Leaf (Howard Lake, MN) and an assist to the cutting Zach Jiskra (Sartell, MN) for the bucket and the foul.  The defensive pressure picked up for Anoka-Ramsey, and they forced the Cyclones into a few turnovers which turned into easy baskets.  The ball movement continued throughout the half for SCTCC, and the Cyclones always seemed to have an answer for the runs AR was making.  Jiskra added 11 second half points and finished with 14 for the game.  Freshman Riley West (Lakeville, MN) stepped up and made big free throws down the stretch as the Cyclones kept the Rams at arms distance, finishing with an 86-75 win.

The men's basketball team will travel Wednesday to Lacrosse, WI to play Western Wisconsin Tech at 7pm.  SCTCC will return home next Saturday February 16th to face MN-West.
Game Stats vs Anoka