The Pratt Community College men's basketball team traveled to compete in the T-Bird Thanksgiving Classic Hosted by conference foe Cloud County Community College. The Beavers competed in two games against non-conference opponents over the 2-day span of the event.
The blue and white took on the Reivers of Iowa Western Community College to kick off the classic. The Beavers came into the tournament undefeated. Their 7-game winning streak was snapped by Iowa Western at the end of a single overtime period. The Reivers managed to take the win with a final score of 109-104.
The Beavers loss was not in vain as they displayed their potential offensive prowess by posting a triple-digit score for the third time in eight games during the 2018-19 season. As a team Pratt shot over 45 percent from the field and had a clean stroke from the 3-point arc by hitting 50 percent of their long-range attempts.
Freshman guard Tyler Bourne was at the helm of the PCC offensive. He dished out a team-high of 7 assists and was the team's second leading scorer with 24 points.
Notching a single point more than Bourne was fellow Beaver guard Blake Furcron. Furcron nearly grabbed his fourth double-double of the year after racking up 25 points and nine rebounds.
Pratt's ability to score kept them even with the Reivers for a great portion of the match. The game was taken into overtime after a leading Iowa Western side received a technical foul that allowed PCC to shoot the free throws needed to tie the contest. Iowa Western managed to outscore the Beavers in the final period of play by a mere 21-16 to end the game.
During the second day of the classic, Pratt went head-to-head with North Platte Community College. Victory escaped Pratt against the Knights. The score at the end of regulation landed in favor of North Platte 86-72.
Furcron led the way for his team again with a 23-point performance. He accomplished the display of scoring while knocking in 8-of-11 shots from the field.
In an attempt to achieve victory, The Beavers held North Platte to 17 percent shooting from beyond the arc. PCC allowed only four 3-point makes in the entire 40-minute span of court action. A strong presence at the free throw-line and 50 percent shooting from the floor helped to seal the deal for the Knights.
PCC men's basketball will compete again when they travel to take on Allen County Community College on Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. The game will be the first conference contest for the Beavers in 2018.