Gillette College men advance to Region IX semifinals with 89-75 win over Otero

STERLING, CO by Miles Englehart Gillette News Record

Gillette College's 6-foot-4 forward Isaac Mushila wasn't the biggest guy on the court Thursday. But he was by far the most effective in the paint in leading the Pronghorns to a quarterfinal win in the Region IX Men's Basketball Tournament.

Mushila, a freshman, finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds, while sophomore Jayden Coke had a stellar defensive performance as Gillette rolled to an 89-75 win over Otero Junior College in Sterling, Colorado.

"Our guys just had a great effort. We came out right from the get go and got after them," Pronghorns coach Shawn Neary said. "It was great to see the guys come out with the right energy and get that win."

The Pronghorns trailed 32-30 with less than three minutes left in the first half, but a 13-2 run in the final 2:15 gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Five players scored during that stretch and a fadeaway jumper by freshman Teonta McKeithen gave Gillette a 43-34 lead at halftime.

Gillette's advantage wavered around the double-digit mark for most of the second half.

Sophomore Mason Archambault scored three of his 13 second-half points with a 3-pointer in the first minute to extend the lead to 48-36, then Otero hit another gear defensively.

The Pronghorns only scored six points over the next eight-plus minutes, while being forced into five turnovers. At the other end of the court, Otero steadily scrapped back to within five points at 54-49 with 10:34 remaining.

Gillette started its clinching 21-8 run near the seven-minute mark — and Mushila and freshman running mate Gary Solomon had their fingerprints all over it.

Over the next three minutes, Mushila scored eight points and Solomon had four and a key assist. The run was capped when Mushila took a pass from Archambault and converted an and-one layup to push the lead to 74-57 at the four-minute mark.

The Pronghorns played efficient basketball to finish.

After scoring just 13 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, there weren't many empty possessions and they exploded for 35 more points in the final 10.

"I thought we executed well in the second half," Neary said. "They were having trouble on our ball screens and our guys were able to get to the rim."

Coke gave Gillette its biggest lead of the game at 77-59 with an offensive rebound and a 3-point play with 3:30 remaining.

Archambault added six points in the remaining time.

It was the second straight game Mushila was the hero. He sent the Pronghorns past the first-round with a game-winning shot Saturday.

He shredded Otero's height advantage with superior positioning around the rim. Archambault (17) and Solomon (11) were the other double-figure scorers, but three others added eight or nine points.

Neary looked back at how important that game winner was last week against Eastern Wyoming.

"That put us in a position to be here and now we're in the final four in the region," he said.

At the other end of the court, Coke came up with a defensive gem to take Otero out of its normal game plan.

Sophomore RayQuawndis Mitchell had been Otero's offensive focus for much of the season, but Coke forced tough shot after tough shot and Mitchell only made 3-of-16 on the way to his 18 points.

As a team, Otero came into the game shooting over 40% from 3 and ranked top 10 in the country in that category. Thursday, Gillette held Otero to 7-of-26 (26%) from behind the arc.

"I think a lot of that has to do with how well we contested those shots and it all started with Jayden," Neary said.

With the win, the Pronghorns (25-5) move on to the Region IX semifinal, where they'll face No. 15 Western Wyoming Community College (28-4) for the third time this season. WWCC beat Gillette 89-76 on its home court and then won a 113-109 overtime game at the Pronghorn Center on Jan. 29.

"They're a good team and they're the only team that's beat us twice," Neary said. "I know our guys are looking forward to that one, because we felt like we let that one slip away from us at home."

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