Coyotes hold off late Highlanders surge for NTJCAC win, 65-61

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Friday, 30 January 2009 00:00

Article by Greg Webb
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The prospect of improving its conference record looked daunting on its face for Weatherford College, Wednesday. The ice had thawed enough to allow the Highlanders to make the trek from Waco, and any frost left hanging around the Betty Jo Graber Crumm gymnasium was apt to be gone, with the heat generated by the North Texas Junior College Athletic Association match, which the Coyotes won, 65-61.

McLennan, now 5-1 in conference play, negated an early lead built by the Coyotes, knotting the count at eight with a bit over 14 minutes remaining in the first half. For the balance of the period, WC surged ahead, extending its lead to as many as 12 points with a couple of minutes left before the break. Eleven points each from Weatherford's JD Lane and Tyler Hull helped propel the Coyotes' offense. As would be a theme for the game, WC's bench helped make valuable contributions, much needed, with sophomore Marcus Brister sitting out the game with the flu.

The performance mirrored the preparation the Coyotes made for the week.

"We had a couple of good, high-energy practices this week," said Weatherford College head coach Dave Donnelly. "And we really played like we practiced the last two days. It translated over really well.

"We changed up our defenses a little bit, trying to control the tempo, and I thought our guys did a great job of doing that. That was key to the game. And we didn't turn the ball over."

The Coyotes, with a few fluctuations, held McLennan at arm's length midway through the final half, contesting the boards to get follow-up shots and denying the Highlanders second chances on their end.

A surge by McLennan over a seven-minute span saw the WC lead evaporate, with MCC outscoring the Coyotes 12-2 as time lapsed down to three minutes.

McLennan tied the game at 50, then briefly pulled ahead by a point at 2:40.

"It really helped when Kendall [Durant] made a couple of threes to give us a gap," Donnelly said. "We went three or four trips without scoring, but we got the stops by the defense that we needed."

After Durant's pair of 3-pointers put Weatherford back up to a four-point lead with under a minute remaining, the Highlanders had to resort to intentional fouls, and pulled back to within two with 11 ticks left on the clock. Weatherford's Curtis Bowen sealed the deal with two successful free throws at 9.8 seconds. MCC's desperation long-shots failed and a rebound by WC iced the win.

Durant finished the game as high scorer, with 21 points. Hull had 15, while Lane had 12.

"From the starters to the bench, we never dropped off," Donnelly said. "Chancellor Lewis, De'Angelo Robinson and Kellen Wilson all came off the bench and just did a great job."

Weatherford College returns to conference play Saturday, traveling to meet Grayson College and looking to carry the momentum of the victory over McLennan with them in hopes of improving on its 2-4 conference mark.

WC 65, MCC 61
McLennan CC ‹ M. Steen 19, O. Tims 11, J. Glynn 10, K. Hagood 7, E. Milam 6, R. Simon 6, T. Harden 2.
Weatherford College ‹ Kendall Durant 21, Tyler hull 15, JD Lane 12, Aron Walker 6, Curtis Bowens 5, Kellen Wilson 4, DeAngelo Robinson 2.
3-point goals: MCC ‹ K. Steen (2), K. Hagood; WC ‹ Kendall Durant (5), JD Lane (2), Hull, Bowens.
Free throws ‹ MCC: 10-23; WC: 8-13.

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