Otero men upend Indians 83-76

LA JUNTA, Colo. – The eight-place Otero Junior College men upended McCook Community College Friday at home 83-76.

“This was a tough one for us tonight. We were playing a little short-handed so had to run some different lineups than we have all year,” said MCC Assistant Coach Drake Henderson.

The Indians got out to a 34-23 lead with 6:34 left in the first half and held on for a 39-38 lead at intermission. MCC went up 50-45 five minutes into the second half and led 60-56 with 10 minutes left in the game.

“I think the guys that played tonight really stepped up in those roles. I thought our effort was there,” said Henderson. “I think we made a few defensive miscues that ultimately led to Otero getting the win.”

The two teams battled down the stretch and Otero went up 76-69 with 2:34 left but MCC’s press forced three turnovers and allowed the Indians to tie the game at 76-76 with 1:23 remaining. Otero took the lead for good on a fast-break and secured the win going five-for-six from the free-throw line over the final 30 seconds of the game.

“Offensively I thought we played relatively well considering multiple guys were playing different positions than they’ve played all year, ultimately it just wasn’t good enough tonight,” said Henderson. “Credit to Otero and their staff for their game plan and the way they played.”

Statistics for the game were not available immediately after the game Friday night.

The Rattlers were last in the Region IX South standings but improve to 3-10 and 4-23 overall.

MCC falls to 6-7 and 16-13 overall.

Northeastern Junior College leads the standings at 10-3, Lamar second at 9-5. North Platte downed Trinidad Friday to improve to 8-5. MCC and Trinidad tied for fourth at 6-7, Southeast CC and Western Nebraska were tied for sixth with 5-8 records and Otero eighth at 3-10.

The first-place team gets a first-round bye in the Region IX post-season tournament. The second, third and fourth place teams will host first-round play-in games next weekend.

The Indians will conclude the regular season Saturday at Trinidad.

“We have a big one tomorrow at Trinidad, which is never an easy place to play,” said Henderson. “We’re going to try and take care of business over there then get back home for the Region tournament.”

Up-to-date information about MCC men’s basketball including livestream links for home games, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com