Feb. 21, 2007

Final Stats

The fourth-ranked Northeastern Junior College men's basketball team moved to 26-1 on Tuesday with a 78-71 win at Western Nebraska.

The Plainsmen took a 46-29 lead into halftime. Coach Eddie Trenkle's team set the pace early from the perimeter, hitting 9-of-14 three pointers in the opening session.

NJC three-point specialist Mike Dominguez was back to his old tricks. The freshman from Espanola, N.M.; made good on 5-of-9 three pointers. Dominguez led NJC with 20 points while pulling down a game-high seven rebounds.

Sophomore point-guard Omar Leary kept pace with 16 points, hitting 4-of-7 three pointers. Leary added three assists and a steal.

"In the first half, we took control and did exactly what we wanted to do," Trenkle said. "Mike and Omar carried us. They both shot really well. Mike hit all five three-pointers in the first half, so he gave us a big boost."

Trenkle said his team needs to work harder at finishing games.

"The second half was one of those games where we kinda played with the lead," he said. "We played well enough to win, but we're going to have to work on that getting ready for the tournament. We need to learn that when we have a team down, we have to put them away."

Gilbert, Ariz.; sophomore Shane Edwards scored 13 points and had five rebounds while freshman Troy Smith came off the bench for 12 points and six boards.

The Plainsmen round out the regular season at home against North Platte on Feb. 27. NJC will travel back to Scottsbluff, Neb.; when they take the No. 1 seed to the Region IX Tournament begins Mar. 3. NJC will take on McCook at 6 pm.