ROCK SPRINGS – After losing two at the LCCC Classic, the Western Wyoming Community College men’s basketball squad rebounded to take two at home as they hosted the Mustang Invitational this past weekend.

The Mustangs opened with a win over a stubborn USU-Eastern team on Friday, 74-64, and followed it with a convincing win over Planet Athletic Academy Saturday, 92-71.

Against USU-Eastern, a hot start by Callum Lawson and timely shooting by Josh Fearing had the Mustangs up early in a close contest. A three by Tyrell Isaacs at the six-minute mark in the first half gave the Mustangs their biggest lead of the contest at nine, 31-22. Eastern battled back and cut the lead down to two but a three by Cole Huish had the lead back to five at the half, 42-37.

Fearing came out of the break firing from behind the line quickly extending the WWCC lead to double digits. Huish also converted a rare four-point play during the Mustang run. USU- Eastern battled back and had the lead down to single digits late but Lawson and David Thornton were big down the stretch as the Mustangs returned to the win column with the 74-64 win. Isaacs finished with a team-high 15 followed by Lawson who finished with 14.

Planet Athletic Academy was up next for the Mustangs and Western controlled from the start. Behind sharp shooting and scrappy defense, WWCC jumped out to a 12-point lead at the half, 45-33. A big contribution off the bench from Tayler Marteliz helped the Mustangs extend the lead in the second. Behind four threes by Marteliz, the Mustangs improved to 6-4 on the season with the 92-71.

Along with Marteliz’s 13 off the bench, Isaacs was again strong. He paced Western with 19 points while also dishing out six assists on the night. Fearing hit three, three pointers to finish with 17 in the win.

The men have another busy week ahead with three games on the slate including hosting its second tournament in as many weekends. On Tuesday, the Mustangs will hit the road for a game in Rangely, Colo., as they face Colorado Northwestern. On Dec. 2 and 3, Western hosts the Western Wyoming Classic. On Friday at 7 p.m., the Mustangs face Eastern Wyoming followed by a contest with Rexburg United at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Region 9 Men’s Basketball

Standings

Gillette College 9-0

Casper College 8-2

Sheridan College 7-2

Western Wyoming 6-4

Miles 4-3

Northwest 3-3

Central Wyoming 3-4

Little Big Horn 1-6