By Brittain Kelly
Copper Mountain College Men’s
basketball team dropped a tough one Wednesday night in their first game at the
Riverside City College Classic, 69-67.
CMC started off playing well behind the stellar play of Sophomore Dillon
Voyles. Hot shooting from Demarcus King and three blocked shots in the first
half from Hyking Brisbon helped give CMC the lead at the half, 36-29.
Head Coach Walter Parham consistently preaches to his team that a game is decided by the “tale of two halfs,” reminding them to play with consistent effort and energy throughout the entire 40-minute game. The Fighting Cacti have had some trouble closing out games and Wednesday proved to be another lesson on the learning curve for CMC. Associate Head Coach Britain Kelly said, “Losses are lessons” as well as, “We are never as good as we think we are when we win and we are never as bad as we think we are when we lose.”
Despite missing two out of their last four free throws, CMC fought to the end but ultimately fell short, 69-67.
Dillon Voyles led CMC in scoring with 22 points.
Sophomore guard Will Valsien had 13 points and freshman Tyler Hudson chipped in 12 points in the loss for the Cacti.
Copper Mountain is 4-4 on the season and will turn around in less than 24 hours to take on Cerritos College. Day two of the Riverside City College Classic picks back up Thursday December 5; the action is set to start at 3 p.m.
