12/1/14 • By Zach Chriswell / zchriswell@columbustelegram.com
COLUMBUS -- The Raiders gave themselves a chance, at the start and in the end.
However, McCook Community College outlasted the Central Community College men's basketball team 83-76 Monday at the Raider Fieldhouse.
"I was really proud of the fact that we competed all the way to the end," Central head coach Jerry Drymon said. "We've struggled this year competing in all 40 minutes. I was really proud of the effort -- that gives you a chance. Part of the process we talk about is we play one of the toughest schedules in the country. Our opponents are something like 70-25 this year. The thing I try and sell is we have to mature. We've seen everything. We've seen size, we've seen every style of play. So now, we have to learn from what we've seen and make it more applicable in games."
The Indians pressed the Raiders right out of the gate, and according to Drymon, Central handled the pressure well.
"When you play pressing teams, the first five minutes of a game are so critical," Drymon said. "They're so fired up and ready to play, but you have to control that emotion. (McCook) is averaging like 108 points a game. So we talked about the game has to be played in the 80s, which seems like a high number, but we're bringing about 20 points below their total, and we did that, which is why we had a chance to win."
Despite averaging a high number of points per game, Central held McCook to just 34 points in the first half. Still, the Indians held a 34-32 lead.
"We felt really good about where we were at," Drymon said about the halftime score. "We made some mistakes that we were going to try and adjust. We knew they were going to make another run and we just had to withstand it and counter back with our own."
McCook started the second half with an 18-6 run to take control.
"We got a little lackadaisical with fundamentals," Drymon said. "We did some things that we preach every day you can't do, especially when you play teams that will be up into you -- we were just too casual with the ball. They got after us and turned us over because we were too casual. When you play a pressing team and they get a couple layups, that momentum builds for them and they compound on that and that was the tough part for us."
The Raiders, however, hung with it and went on a run of their own.
Late in the second half, down 63-44, Central rattled off a 22-8 run to cut the McCook lead to 71-66 with 4:30 remaining in the game.
"We were a little more active defensively," Drymon said. "We got a few tips and deflections and created a few steals. We got to the bucket a little bit more and we rebounded a little better than we had in the past. Overall, we made a big improvement over what we've seen in the past."
Unfortunately for the Raiders, they didn't get much closer as the Indians were able to hold on to secure the win.
Shawn Robinson led the Raiders with a team-high 18 points. Matthew McLeod scored 14 points, while Connor Long had 11 points, and Bryant Kelly scored 10.
Central hosts York Wednesday.
Monday at the Raider Fieldhouse
McCook 34 49 - 83
Central (1-12) 32 44 - 76
* MCCOOK (field goals-free throws-fouls-points) - Cody Wudtke 1 2-5 3 4; Karim El-Amin 1 0-0 3 2; Trey Moore 4 6-6 1 17; Victor Haywood 1 0-0 4 2; Deng Autiak 1 0-0 1 2; Marquis White 2 4-5 0 8; Dominic Cain 7 5-7 2 19; Clint Thomas 5 3-3 1 15; Makuei Puondak 4 0-0 0 8; Joe Rettele 2 2-2 3 6. Totals 28 22-28 18 83.
* CENTRAL - Shawn Robinson 6 6-6 0 18; Warol Gatdit 3 1-4 1 8; Matthew McLeod 4 4-4 4 14; Bryant Kelly 5 0-0 2 10; Tyrone Clayton 0 0-2 4 0; Thomas Johnson 3 3-4 2 9; Connor Long 4 0-0 2 11; David Joachim 2 0-0 1 4; Nietzche Jeantinor 0 2-4 2 2; Daniel Maganda 0 0-0 1 0. Totals 27 16-24 19 76.
* 3-point field goals - McCook 5 (Moore 3, Thomas 2), Central 6 (Long 3, McLeod 2, Gatdit 1).