Pratt, Kan – The Pratt Community College (PCC) Beavers hosted sophomore night on Wednesday, February 23rd in front of a packed Beaver Dome. The Cowley College (CC) Tigers were in town for the final regular season matchup. Both teams were eager for one more win before the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region VI tournament starts this weekend. In the previous matchup, held on January 15th in Arkansas City the Beavers lost 77-71.
Last night's game, in similar form to the first matchup was back and forth with neither team ever taking a large advantage. There was ten lead changes and three ties throughout the contest. Off of a late layup by freshman forward Cam Morris the Beavers took the lead 68-67. After a three-point shot Morris was fouled on the rebound and sent to the line. The Tigers had one more opportunity to win the game after two missed Morris free throws. The last second three-point shot was missed and the Beavers held on to win 68-67.
"I saw several of our sports teams at the game in addition to a great crowd of people from Pratt," said Head Coach Kenny Eddy. "It was a good environment for our guys to be in and they were pumped about it."
The Beavers outrebound the Tigers 36 to 31, scored 22 points in the paint, and 15 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Nasan Ayala lead the way with 19 points. Adding a double-double was Morris who finished the game with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Harrison Eghan finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
"Getting the win especially against Cowley the national runner ups last season capped a brutal five game stretch for us," said Coach Eddy. "Being able to get back-to-back wins against Hutchinson and Cowley going into the playoffs is good for us. We are going to take that and keep it rolling against Barton on Saturday night."
After the game, it was announced that the Beavers would be the 10th seed in the NJCAA Region VI tournament. They won the tiebreaker over Independence Community College (ICC) by sweeping the Pirates this season.
Pratt will face the Barton Cougars on the road this Saturday, February 26th at 7:00 pm. The Beavers split with the Cougars this season. In their most recent matchup, the Cougars won at home 93-80 on February 9th. Both Ayala and sophomore Tommy Thomas had over 20 points. Back in December during the Beavers four game win streak they were able to knock off the Cougars 75-72 in the Beaver Dome.
"Barton will bring a great crowd… the place will be packed," said Coach Eddy. "The guys will have to be able to handle adversity not only on the court, but from the crowd and the bench. It will be a lot to take in, but it will not be their first rodeo by any means."
With a win on Saturday, the Beavers would advance to the second round of the tournament and travel to Hutchinson Community College on Tuesday, March 1st. This past Monday, the Beavers knocked off the #19 ranked Blue Dragons 112-100. Previously, back in November Hutch defeated the Beavers at home 106-99.
