SWCC staves off homecourt loss

In another impressive home game performance, Khallid Edwards sunk a deep 3-pointer from just to the left of the top of the arc, to give Southwestern Community College a lead in the closing seconds of regulation against Iowa Central Community College Wednesday.

The trey put the Spartans up 85-82 with 16 seconds left and gave the defending national champions just enough of an edge to close out a win over the Tritons, 89-84.

The Tritons sunk a putback shot in the paint to close the gap to one, with 8.5 second left, but two free throws from Edwards stretched the lead back to three.

Lorensen admitted the Edwards 3-pointer was not what they had drawn up during a timeout.

“The end result was pretty darn good, but I also thought we had something drawn up that we could have exploited as well,” said SWCC head coach Todd Lorensen.

Triton Tray Croft, who burned the Spartans all night, had a chance at a one-and-one to cut the gap. Croft missed the front end of the free throw opportunity and Chad Moran iced the game on the other end with two more free throws after getting fouled.

Croft finished the game with 39 points, 29 of which came in the second half from anywhere and everywhere he pleased.

On consecutive possessions, Croft drove to the left side of the lane, faded away and used his left hand to bank the ball off the glass and in.

SWCC trailed by six points with just over two and a half minutes to play, when Alijah Thomas drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 76.

Croft responded with a fadeway triple in front of his own bench from about six feet beyond the 3-point arc.

“He was phenomenal,” said Lorensen. “I’d like to know a better way to try and guard him, but I certainly don’t have one.”

Gatdoar Kueth continued his exceptional string of games, posting 21 points against the Tritons with moves in the paint that left defenders helpless.

Kueth had 13 points at the half that came from a 3-pointer, four free throws and a number of buckets in the paint.

“I think as a staff we started to see it over the past six weeks where it was coming along, so for us it wasn’t a surprise,” said Lorensen about Kueth’s recent string of 20-point games.

The Spartans led 42-31 at the intermission, but ICCC came out of the locker room and quickly closed the gap, taking a 58-55 lead following a 3-pointer from Croft after Spartan defenders lost him.

Despite trailing through the latter parts of the game, the Spartans never let the deficit grow wider than six, which Thomas handled accordingly.

Late in the game, Lorensen switched to a three-guard look consisting of Thomas, Edwards and Ryan Warren, looking for added quickness and hand speed to keep the Tritons uncomfortable.

“That was kind of the theory with that is let those three guys fly around as active as possible,” said Lorensen.

It worked. Thomas and Warren both poked away steals and used strategic double teams to force Iowa Central turnovers late.

Chad Moran (11), Terence Shelby Jr. (10) and RoNeal Ross (9) all hit impactful shots when they were called upon as well.

Ross has gotten more minutes as of late and Lorensen complimented his attitude this season after the game.

“Even when he wasn’t playing as many minutes as he would like, he (Ross) continued to keep a positive mindset and develop himself as a player,” said Lorensen.

Lorensen noted that teams have figured out how the Spartans like to work and given how deep into the season the team is, it’s understandable.

Ross, as noted by Lorensen, gives SWCC a big body inside that creates matchup problems and allows SWCC to get quick, easy looks at the rim.

That has also seemed to work in the opposite effect against Shelby Jr.

Coming into Wednesday’s game averaging 17.6 points per game, Shelby Jr. sat most of the second half due to defensive scheming and teams forcing him away from his comfort zone: catching and shooting.

“It was more the defensive matches,” said Lorensen. “There is no secrets now. Teams know what he is about so they’re really going to ... not let him get catch and shoot opportunities.”

UP NEXT – Southwestern gets to continue playing on its home floor, something that has benefited them this year. The Spartans hold a 12-1 record in Creston.

SWCC hosts Ellsworth Saturday at 3 p.m. during the school’s White Out, where the first 75 fans in attendance will receive white t-shirts.

Running score by half

SWCC – 42 89

ICCC – 31 84

SWCC (FG FT PTS) – Totals xx 22-28 89. Gatdoar Kueth 8 4-4 21, Khallid Edwards 5 6-6 19, Chad Moran 3 5-10 11, Terence Shelby Jr. 3 2-2 10, RoNeal Ross 3 3-4 9, Ryan Warren 2 2-2 8, Alijah Thomas 2 0-0 6, D’Marqueyon Whittington 1 0-0 3, Rasheed Barze 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals – 11 (Edwards 3, Thomas 2, Warren 2, Shelby Jr. 2) Team fouls – 14. Fouled out – None.

ICCC (FG FT PTS) – Totals xx 10-13 84. Tray Croft 14 6-7 39, Kemryn Jenkins 6 0-0 12, Dallas Bailey 4 0-0 11, Royshawn Webb 3 2-4 8, Robert Hawkins 2 2-2 6, Collin Shannon 2 0-0 6, Raphael Jegede 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals – 10 (Croft 5, Bailey 3, Shannon 2). Team fouls – 20. Fouled out – None.