Saints rally in second half to defeat T-Birds, 62-56

LIBERAL — When Nate Duckworth scored on a drive 12 seconds into the second half, the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds led the Seward County Community College Saints 43-27.
Cloud County would connect on just three of its final 24 field goal attempts in the game, and was outscored 35-13 over the final 16:47 of a 62-56 Jayhawk Conference loss to Seward County Wednesday night.
The T-Birds, after shooting 56 percent (14 of 25) from the field in the first half, were just 4 of 25 for 16 percent in the second half, including 1 of 8 from three-point range.
Seward County used a 16-0 run to turn a 48-33 deficit into a 49-48 lead and held off Cloud County in the closing minutes.
The loss drops the T-Birds to 5-5 overall and 1-3 in the Jayhawk Conference.
Seward County is now 4-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Cloud County led Seward County 41-27 at halftime and was up 48-33 when Joe Kearney made two free throws with 12:08 remaining in the game.
The T-Birds then went 7:23 without scoring. They missed on 11 consecutive field goal attempts and turned the ball over six times during that stretch.
Seward County got three-point baskets by Tave Donald and Malachi McReed and hit 8 of 12 free throws during the 16-0 surge.
A pair of free throws by Wilson Dubrovnik with 5:31 to play gave the Saints their first lead since it was 9-8 early in the first half, at 49-48.
Corey Sawyer Jr. scored with 4:45 on the clock to end Cloud County's lengthy scoring drought.
A free throw by Erik Pratt and a basket by McReed put Seward County on top to stay, 52-50.
Savian Edwards, who led Cloud County with 18 points, made one of two free throws to close the gap to 52-51.
Edwards was 5 of 10 from the field and 5 of 10 from the free throw line.
McReed, who scored 15 points, followed up a missed shot to give Seward County a 54-51 cushion.
After Radovan Vidovic went one of two from the line for Cloud County, the Saints got another basket by McReed.
Edwards made one of two free throws for the T-Birds, and Donald did the same for Seward County.
With Cloud County misfiring on two three-point shots, the Saints made five of six free throws to up the lead to 62-53 with 15 seconds left.
Edwards hit a halfcourt three as time expired to make the final margin six points.
Sawyer Jr. scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for Cloud County.
The T-Birds finished 18 of 50 from the floor for 36 percent and 16 of 25 from the line for 64 percent.
Donald joined McReed in double figures for Seward County with 13 points.
Trailing 9-6 five minutes into the game, the T-Birds got five points from Edwards and four from Sawyer Jr. during an 11-0 run that gave them a 17-9 lead.
Cloud County would extend the lead to 11 points.
Seward County trailed by nine points, 36-27, when Ahamadou Sillah made one of two free throws with  1:06 to play in the half.
Vidovic scored inside and Edwards drilled a three as time expired in the half, and the T-Birds led 41-27.
Duckworth's bucket on first possession of the second half gave Cloud County its biggest lead at 43-27.
The T-Birds were up 15 points when shots quit falling.
Cloud County hosts Pratt Community College, 6-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference, at 4 p.m. Saturday.