Earning their 10th and 11th wins of the season as a part of a five-game winning streak, the Cloud County Community College men’s basketball team upset number 19-ranked Butler and got a strong win over Independence at home.
Versus #19 Butler, the T-Birds won 112-87.
Both teams traded jabs early on. Cloud opened 6-2, before Butler tied it at six before leading 11-6, to which Cloud tied it at 11. The T-Birds were able to pull away with a 16-3 run that put Cloud up 35-19 with just under nine minutes left in the first half. The T-Birds did a great job limiting the Butler offense, not allowing them to cut into the lead, and in the final two minutes with the T-Birds leading 54-31, went on a 12-3 run to take a commanding 66-34 lead entering halftime, capped by a Samuel Akot dunk.
Butler opened the second half with a 15-0 run that made it a 66-49 T-Bird lead with just over two minutes into the second half. Cloud then retaliated with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 25 point lead, 76-51. The Grizzlies got the lead under 20 with 12:20 to go in the game with an and-one, but the T-Birds put the nail in the coffin, quickly putting the lead back in the 20s as both teams went jab for jab in a shootout, as the T-Birds pick up their fourth straight win.
Manasseh Stackhouse led in scoring with 17 points and 10 rebounds, with three assists, a steal and a block.
Syncere Burnette had 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Kuel Akot had 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Samuel Akot had 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Elidjah Savane had 15 points, four rebounds and a block.
Versus Independence, the T-Birds won 94-64.
Cloud got a good start to the game, opening up with an 8-2 lead, before Independence fought back and made it 10-9 five minutes into the game. The Pirates were able to take the lead, 16-15, with 12:55 left in the first half, and it was the last time Indy would hold the lead. After some back-and-forth offense, Cloud was finally able to pull away. After leading 30-28 with 5:33 remaining, the T-Birds went on a 20-8 run to close the first half, but an Indy basket at the buzzer made it 50-36 at halftime.
Cloud continued the second half on fire, scoring 14 straight points as part of a 24-4 run over the first eight minutes of the second half to take a 74-40 lead. The Pirates tried their best to slow the T-Bird offense while also trying to get some consistent offense, but the T-Birds held the Pirates to only 24.4 percent shooting from the field in the half while Cloud shot 48.4 percent on the way to the 94-64 victory and a fifth straight win.
Manasseh Stackhouse and Elidjah Savane each led in scoring with 17 points; both had seven rebounds. Savane had three blocks and a steal, with Stackhouse having one block.
D’Ontez Walker had 14 points, seven rebounds and a block.
