TORRINGTON – With only six players eligible this weekend due to suspensions, the Eastern Wyoming College Lancers took the floor Friday against McCook Community College, falling in an 84-81 back-and-forth affair that had eight ties and four lead changes.

The Lancers came out of the gates hot and took a 20-11 lead after a bucket by Walker Korell with 12:16 left in the first half. McCook withstood the early storm and clawed their way back into the game, cutting the EWC lead and tying the game at 28 and 30. With 10 seconds left before halftime, the Indians knocked down a three-pointer to top the Lancers 33-30 heading into the break.

McCook opened the second half and ballooned their lead to six points (40-34), but the Lancers would not go away easily, with a three-pointer by Nick Holmes tying the game at 48 with 12:32 on the clock. After three more ties, the Lancers slipped a bit, allowing the Indians to build a 78-69 lead, their biggest of the game.

A bucket by Jordan Mirich with 1:39 left trimmed the score to 78-74, but McCook ran up the score to 83-77 with 38 seconds left. Jonathan Morrobel knocked down two free throws and Alek Cosic hit another two free throws down the stretch, but the Lancers were unable to reel in the Indians, falling by three points.

Korell led the Lancers with 23 points, including 15 from behind the arc, along with seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. Morrobel finished the game with a double-double, tallying 18 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and all three of the Lancers’ three blocks.

Holmes contributed 14 points, two boards and an assist. Mirich and Cosic notched 12 points apiece in the loss, on a combined 9-for-17 from the floor. The duo also combined for seven rebounds and three assists. Trey Schroefel rounded out the Lancers that took the floor, tallying two points, five rebounds, a steal and a team-high six assists.

North Platte 88, EWC 68

The Lancers took on North Platte on Saturday, still with the same six players from the night before, completing the rest of the rosters’ suspensions.

The Lancers fell behind 6-0 in just over a minute into the game, but they rallied to cut the lead to 13-10 after an old-fashioned three-point play by Mirich. Shortly after, a three by Morrobel put the Lancers behind 17-15, but the Knights added some distance, securing a 29-20 lead. With five minutes left in the first half, North Platte was up 34-22. Heading into the break, the Lancers were down 43-36.

Coming back to the floor, the Knights continued to pull away from the Lancers, going up 63-42 with 14:18 remaining on the clock. North Platte’s biggest lead of the game came at the 8:28-mark, when they were ahead 76-52. The Knights cruised to the eventual 88-68 win.

Korell was again the top scorer for EWC, knocking down 8-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-3 from behind the arc, notching 21 points on the night, along with a board, a block and a steal.

Cosic was not far behind in the scoring department, tallying 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Holmes chipped in 12 points and Mirich contributed 10 points of his own. The two also combined for nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Morrobel and Schroefel combined for six points, four rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals.

The Lancers now have a 1-18 record and have suffered losses in their past 15 games. EWC looks to end that skid tonight (Wednesday) at home against Northeastern Junior College at 5:30 p.m., followed by a home game Saturday against Air Force Prep at 3 p.m.