T-Birds fall to Red Ravens in first game back from break

COFFEYVILLE — With losses that came more than three weeks apart, the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds have dropped back-to-back Jayhawk Conference games for the first time this season.
The 21st-ranked T-Birds fell 82-80 to ninth-ranked Dodge City Community College on the road in the final game prior to semester break back on December 12.
Cloud County, making another long road trip after returning from the lengthy layoff, was beaten 78-53 by 10th-ranked Coffeyville Community College on Wednesday night.
“We are so reliant and dependent on the team. We are truly the consummate team, and we had a day when nobody played well, and that is where it gets ugly,” Cloud County coach Devin Kastrup said of the loss. “Nobody played well, top to bottom.”
Falling behind 5-0 in the first 1:27 of the game, the T-Birds would never lead.
Cloud County, now 10-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play, would get within a point, 7-6, on a basket by Justin Graham with six minutes gone by.
The T-Birds would manage just two field goals and one free throw over the next nine-plus minutes.
“We came out and got open looks, got opportunities at the rim and didn’t make them, and then the more that happens and more you are in transition the harder it is to guard and they kind of built up a little lead. And then you are having to fight to get back into it, and you play a little quicker but your shots still aren’t going in and they are still just playing at their pace,” Kastrup said.
Coffeyville, 13-2 overall and 7-2 in the Jayhawk Conference, used a 16-6 run to grab a 23-12 lead.
Consecutive baskets by Corey Sawyer pulled Cloud County within seven points, 23-16, with just under four minutes to play in the first half.
A three-point basket by Landon Glasper and two free throws by Nathan Johnson pushed the Red Raven’s lead to 28-16.
Malang Athian hit a three for the T-Birds.
Scoring the final two points of the first half, Coffeyville led 30-19.
Cloud County connected on just 8 of 30 field goal attempts for 27 percent in that first 20 minutes.
Glasper, who finished with 14 points, connected on a pair of threes as Coffeyville outscored the T-Birds 6-2 in the opening three minutes of the second half to stretch the lead to 36-21.
Trailing 38-23, the T-Birds got baskets by Sawyer and Athian to cut the deficit to 38-27.
Coffeyville was up 40-28 when reserve guard Sotriios Nafpliotis hit a pair of threes to spark a 10-0 spurt that made it 50-28.
The Red Ravens hit 10 of 20 three-point attempts in the second half.
Nafpliotis made four of those threes. He finished five of eight from behind the arc in scoring 15 points.
Cloud County was unable to mount a charge over the final 12 minutes of the game.
“I wouldn’t say it was anything they did that was absolutely exceptional that just took us out. We just had a lot more rust than I anticipated. And it was a bad day to have rust against number 10 in the country. They had rust too, but they did better with it,” Kastrup said.
Sawyer led Cloud County with 12 points.
Graham scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the T-Birds.
Cheikh Sow finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Led by Nafpliotis, the Red Ravens had four players score in double figures.
Hayden Brittingham matched Glasper with 14 points and Amarie Haynie added 10.
Cloud County will play at home for the first time in nearly a month when it hosts Garden City Community College at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Garden City is 10-4 overall and 5-4 in the conference following a 73-67 win over Pratt.
“We just have to recommit ourselves to the details,” Kastrup said.