In their first conference win of the 2018-19 season, the Pratt Community College men's basketball team hosted Cloud County Community College for a Saturday afternoon matchup in the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena. The Beavers' overall record improved to 8-8 after downing the T-Birds, 93-73.
PCC held Cloud County to one of their lowest-scoring performances of the season and did so by forcing the T-Birds to take low-percentage field goal attempts. The T-Birds were contained to only 36 percent shooting from the field as a team and were flushed out to the 3-point line where they finished only 2-of-19 from distance.
Seven blocked shots compared to zero from the side of Cloud County set the tone for PCC in an already advantageous home-court situation. Forwards Jerome Bivins and Demarcus Fisher came up with two swats apiece to help set the precedence defensively.
As a unit, The Beavers shot just over 50 percent from the field. Unlike their opponent, PCC had the hot hand from downtown, making 11-of-24 shots, sinking 46 percent of baskets from deep.
Sophomore Blake Furcron led the game in field goal percentage from the floor and 3-point line. His efforts to take quality shots earned him a game-high 26 points while playing just 22 minutes off the bench.
Furcron sunk 7-of-11 field goals, including four 3-point baskets on just five tries. He also added eight shots from the free throw-line in 11 attempts.
Sophomore Tyvon Taylor contributed for the Beavers nearly the entire contest, playing 39 total minutes. Taylor made impacts in several areas of the box score. He produced 20 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Earning nine assists left Taylor just a single pass shy of a double-double performance. Snagging six rebounds tied him with teammate Drew Maschoff for the title of Pratt's leading rebounder.
The win powers Pratt to a 3-way tie for the sixth place spot in the KJCCC West alongside Northwest Kansas Technical College and Dodge City Community College.
The Beavers will look to continue to rise in the conference rankings by competing next against Barton Community College on Jan. 14 beginning at 7:30 p.m.
