Metro clinches RMAC

Written by Kate Ferraro
(kferraro@mscd.edu)
Photo by Dawn Madura
(dmadura@mscd.edu)

The Metro men’s basketball team clinched the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title after beating University of Nebraska at Kearney and Chadron State in two close matches Feb. 20 and 21 at Nebraska.

Two weeks ago, the Roadrunners (22-3 overall, 16-1 in the RMAC) won against CSC and UNK by 36 and 18 points. CSC and UNK were on top of their game this time around, since Metro beat them by only one and two points.

“Both teams came out to play,” forward Brian Minor said. “They showed up and played completely different than the first time we played them.”

The Roadrunners started off slow against UNK, falling behind quickly in the first half. Metro was down by 17 points in the middle of the half and was losing 37-25 at halftime.

“We knew it was going to come out a little differently, because of the result of the last game,” forward Donte Nicholas said. “We kind of got a big lead on them the last game, so we knew it was going to be a different team we were facing.”

Forward Chris Robinson scored his first bucket of the game 20 seconds into the second half, tightening UNK’s lead by 10. UNK forward Josiah Parker came back with a basket of his own, giving his team a 12-point lead once again. The Roadrunners went on a 15-2 run, with the help of guard Marquise Carrington’s three 3-pointers, giving Metro a 44-43 lead.

UNK was ahead by one point with 1.6 seconds left in the game. Forward Jesse Wagstaff lofted a pass over all five UNK players to Minor, who scored the game-winning layup.

“It was exciting,” Minor said. “They hit this crazy shot in the corner that rattles in. I took off running and then (Jesse) Wagstaff suddenly just saw me out of nowhere and chucked it deep and I caught it and finished the layup and we won.”

Metro won the game 64-63. Nicholas was the only Roadrunner to score in double figures with 20 points. Metro outscored UNK 38-22 in the paint, 24-4 in the second half alone. Minor led a strong performance from the bench with seven points, as the Roadrunners outscored UNK in bench points 15-0.

“His shot is really coming along,” head coach Brannon Hays said. “He likes to shoot the ball out from the three, but when he does, it’s very meaningful.”

The Roadrunners controlled most of the first half against CSC, holding onto a 40-38 lead at halftime. The Eagles hit a 3-pointer at the start of the second half to take a one-point lead before the Roadrunners went on a 11-2 run taking a 51-43 advantage with 17 minutes left. CSC went on a 20-6 run taking back the lead before Minor tied the game at 68 with two free throws. The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the game until Carrington hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.

“We handled them pretty easily,” Nicholas said. “We came out with the same intensity. We didn’t get a couple of calls, but down at the end, we got it done. We made some free throws, got the stops that we needed and pulled out the W.”

Metro is No. 1 in the RMAC, No. 3 in the region and No. 18 in the nation. The Roadrunners will finish out regular season play against University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Feb. 28 at Colorado Springs.

“They don’t ever quit no matter what the score is,” Hays said about his team. “They have a belief that we’re going to get the stops and get the scores at those critical junctures in the games. They just have an attitude, ‘we’re just going to get it done.’”