TORRINGTON – The Eastern Wyoming College Lancers battled to the final second of Wednesday’s 81-77 loss to the No. 18-ranked Sheridan College Generals.
Trailing 64-49 with 12 minutes left in the ballgame, freshman guard Jaloni Garner sparked a rally with a score at the 11:02 mark in the second half.
“We shouldn’t be freshman at this point in the season, but we are still making some young, immature mistakes with our effort,” EWC coach Tim Moser said. “I think we have to continue to grow as a group and grow in the locker room, and I think we’ll have a chance when it is all said and is done.”
Over the next seven minutes, the Lancers continued to cut into the double-digit deficit.
With four minutes left in the game, sophomore Brandon Meadows drained a 3-pointer to the tie the game at 71 apiece, and on the ensuing possession, sophomore Chris Bell – making his EWC debut – gave the Lancers a 73-71 advantage.
Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived as Sheridan stormed back to score the next six points.
But Meadows went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line in a span of 11 seconds to tie the game at 77 apiece with a minute and a half to play.
On the Generals next offensive possession, Sheridan connected on a 3-pointer to regain the lead, but over the final 30 seconds of the game, the Lancers had three looks to tie the game that were unsuccessful.
“I would take those three shots we had at the end of the game again,” Moser said. “We had three good looks.”
The final one came by freshman David Hook with less than 10 seconds to play.
EWC fouled Sheridan on the rebound, and the Generals added one more point to the scoreboard putting the game out of reach for the Lancers.
“Our kids fought hard, but if we firm up some stuff, we win both of those games,” Moser said in reference to the similarities between Wednesday’s game and the loss to Western Nebraska Community College.
“Our goal is to get this back to where Eastern Wyoming College once was, and we are getting there. We are slowly figuring that out. Our kids – you can see that right here – care,” Moser said pointing to the court as the team was already back on the floor putting up shots.
Meadows and freshman Sam Tiley led EWC with 15 points each, while freshman Jonatan Arvidsson tossed in 14.
“Sam is one of our smartest players,” Moser said. “He has a really high IQ. He can shoot. He can use his body. Sam is a weapon.”
The Lancers (5-10 overall and 0-1 in the North Sub-Region) host Northwest College (7-9 and 0-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday for Fan Appreciation Day. Admission to the game is free.
“Our biggest thing is we have to turn around and beat Northwest,” Moser said. “Our kids understand that.”
