Men’s Basketball: Sophomore Day Victory

The Central Community College men's basketball team defeated Northeast Community College, 81-71, on Saturday at the Raider Fieldhouse.

The first half was close throughout as the Raiders didn't take their first lead until seven-and-a-half minutes into the contest. The Hawks went up by five points, 18-13, with just outside of nine minutes to play. However, CCC was able to keep close until halftime when Northeast held a 34-33 lead.

"We didn't play well offensively in the first half," said CCC head coach John Ritzdorf. "But I'm proud of how we competed and were able to stay in the game because of our defense."

In the second half, the Raiders rattled off a 20-8 run to post a 62-50 advantage with just under nine minutes to play. Central went on to lead by as many as 16 points before taking the 10-point decision.

"We were more solid in the second half and a big part of this game was keeping (Northeast) out of transition and I thought we did a good job of that for the most part," said Ritzdorf.

For the second consecutive game, Kevin Cook and Caleb Muia each recorded double doubles. Cook scored 31 points and pulled down 14 rebounds while Muia scored a dozen points and hauled in 10 rebounds. Jayden Byabato and Tredyn Prososki totaled 11 points apiece.

Before the game, Byabato (#11), Cook (#33), Muia (#10) and Prososki (#3) along with fellow sophomores Dwight Glover Jr. (#15), Gavin Lipovsky (#4) and Emarr Vinson (#32) were recognized.

"They're all going to graduate and move on," said Ritzdorf. "They're all getting recruited a little bit, so it will be exciting to follow them in their next chapter."

With the win, CCC improves to 15-8 on the season.

The Raiders are off until Saturday when they travel to Southeast Community College. The Storm defeated the Raiders earlier this season, 75-72, at the Raider Fieldhouse. Saturday's contest begins at 4 p.m.