CCCC drops conference game to Cougars, 63-58

A furious fourth quarter comeback attempt by the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds came up short in a 63-58 Jayhawk Conference loss to the 25th-ranked Barton Community College Cougars.
Barton took a 58-46 lead in the game when Vivian Onugha made two free throws with 2:38 remaining in the game.
Cloud County scored nine points in under two minutes to pull within four points, 59-55.
The T-Birds then forced a turnover, but couldn’t convert on the offense end as the Cougars held on for the win Sunday afternoon in Bryant Gymnasium.
A second straight loss drops Cloud County to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
Barton improves to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Falling behind 11-0 in the opening three minutes, the T-Birds trailed the entire game.
Cloud County pulled within five points, 28-23, at halftime and made it a 34-30 game when Josephine Igherighe scored on a drive with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
Barton outscored the T-Birds 13-6 over the final 3:45 of the third period to push the lead back to double digits when Tatum Boettjer connected on a three-point shot.
Cloud County got no closer than nine points over the first 7:33 of the fourth quarter.
Onugha’s two free throws put the Cougars up 58-46.
Maimouna Sissoko scored four points in 31 seconds, and the T-Birds trailed 57-50.
Cloud County came up with a steal and Igherighe was fouled with 1:24 to play. The sophomore made one of two free throws to close the gap to 57-51.
A steal and layup by Darcy Lierz pulled the T-Birds within four points, 57-53, with 1:06 on the clock.
Quezia Bertoni, who led all scorers with 27 points, made two free throws, and Barton led 59-53.
Igherighe drew a foul just seven seconds later, and went two of two from the line to leave Cloud County trailing just 59-55 with 42 seconds left.
The T-Birds got the ball back when Barton was called for an illegal screen, but Sissoko was unable to connect on a baseline jumper.
The Cougars came away with the rebound, and Bertoni was fouled. She made both free throws to up the lead to 61-55 with 17.6 seconds remaining.
Igherighe scored and was fouled eight seconds later. Her free throw made it a 61-58 game.
Barton inbounded the ball and the T-Birds did not foul as time expired.
"I was proud of the fact that in the fourth quarter, at least, we really battled the last five or six minutes to give what looked like a chance," Cloud County coach Brett Erkenbrack said.
Igherighe, who was 7 of 10 from the free throw line, led three Cloud County players in double figures with 15 points. She also grabbed nine rebounds.
Sissoko finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Bailey Burns added 10 points.
Cloud County shot just 26 percent (19 of 72) from the field and was 6 of 33 from three-point range for 18 percent.
"We have been terribly inefficient offensively. It seemed like we had a lot of good shots. We just didn't hit them," Erkenbrack said. "I felt most of the threes we shot were good shots. That is what they were giving us."
Onugha scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Barton.
Barton got out to an 11-0 lead in the game.
"Our MO (modus operandi) this year is get ourselves in a hole early, which we certainly did. And then you are playing uphill the entire time," Erkenbrack said.
Cloud County used an 8-2 spurt to make it 13-8 and trailed 15-8 heading into the second quarter.
Scoring the first seven points of the second period, the Cougars extended their lead to 22-8.
The T-Birds outscored Barton 15-6 over the final eight minutes of the first half, and trailed just 28-23.
Cloud County got as close as four points, 34-30, 3:53 into the second half.
Bertoni hit two threes and scored all 11 points as Barton built a 47-36 cushion going into the fourth quarter.
The T-Birds trailed by as many as 13 points in that final period before making the late run.
Cloud County hosts Garden City Community College at 6 p.m. Wednesday.