Stellar Indian - Clint Bryant

Player Name: Clint Bryant
Hometown: Curtis, NE
Parents: William & Kris Bryant
This Years Stats: Student Assistant
Coach Lenhart Quote: "Clint has been a tremendous asset to our Basketball Family, he will be very difficult to replace. He is not only a hard worker but is an even better person, one of the best of I ever met in my entire life. Clint will be deeply missed." Forever an Indian -Clint Bryant!
Nickname: CB
Favorite Sports Hero: Terrell Davis
If I Could use one word to describe Coach Lenhart it would be: Energetic
People say I look like: Josh Hartnet
My Goal in Sport is: Help The Team

The Following is a personal blog written by your McCook CC Men's Basketball Team, covering their day-to-day lives as both students and athletes at McCook CC. Each week will feature the writings of players. This Week's edition includes blogg from Clint Bryant.

"Life at MCC is very busy for me. I try to juggle work, school, and basketball. At times it can be overwhelming. All in all I enjoy it here though. Being close to family is a huge plus and the MCC Basketball team is like a second family to me. Coach L is Dad, and Coach P is Mom, Lol....!"

Stellar Indian - Eric Cutright

Player Name: Eric Cutright
Hometown: Zwolle, LA
Parents: Margie Cutright
This Years Stats: 12 points 6 rebounds
Coach Lenhart Quote: "Eric has been a proving winner at all levels. We look forward to him doing great things after his time at McCook. Eric will be deeply missed by our basketball family!" Forever an Indian -Eric Cutright!
Nickname: Cutty
Favorite Sports Hero: Shaquille O'Neal
If I Could use one word to describe Coach Lenhart it would be: Goofy
People say I look like: Big Baby - Glen Davis
My Goal in Sport is: To Become My Best and Make Teammates Better
My Goal in life is: Achieve Everything I Set Out To Do
One thing most people don't know about me is: I Have A Funny Side


The Following is a personal blog written by your McCook CC Men's Basketball Team, covering their day-to-day lives as both students and athletes at McCook CC. Each week will feature the writings of players. This Week's edition includes blogg from Eric Cutright.

"MCC is a Great Place to be, considering where I am from. It's not much to do just like back home. It gets boring at times but us as teammates find things to do to keep us occupied. We have become a family, and that's all you need. Everyday is a battle in practice, and in the classroom. It's hard sometimes to get up for class after a long/late night practice or road game, but we have grown together and we are now stronger people because of everything we are put through here at MCC. MCC Is Life!"

Stellar Indian - Darius Robinson

Player Name: Darius Robinson
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Parents: David and Jackie Robinson
This Years Stats: 22ppg 4rpg 1.5stls 3assists
Coach Lenhart Quote: "Darius has been unbelievable for our Basketball Family over the past two years, he is one of the best scorers I have ever coached!" Forever an Indian - Darius Robinson!
Nickname: DRob
Favorite Sports Hero: Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant
If I Could use one word to describe Coach Lenhart it would be: Obnoxious
People say I look like: Rashad Lewis
My Goal in Sport is: To Be The Best I Can Be
My Goal in life is: To be Successful and have a Wife & Kids


The Following is a personal blog written by your McCook CC Men's Basketball Team, covering their day-to-day lives as both students and athletes at McCook CC. Each week will feature the writings of players. This Week's edition includes blogg from Darius Robinson.

"Life at MCC is very laid back, not a lot to do other than the movie theatre. To pass time by I like to get on my laptop, play basketball, and chill with my friends/teammates. A also like to play on my Ipod touch!"

Stellar Indian - Martin Mlinaric

Player Name: Martin Mlinaric
Hometown: Velika,Gorika Croatia
Parents: Marijan & Sanja Mlinaric
This Years Stats: 5 points 4 rebounds
Coach Lenhart Quote: "Martin is one of the best people I have ever met in my entire life, his work ethic and personality will be deeply missed!" Forever an Indian -Martin Mlinaric!
Favorite Sports Hero: Toni Kukoc
If I Could use one word to describe Coach Lenhart it would be: Legendary
My Goal in Sport is: To Win
My Goal in life is: To Succeed

The Following is a personal blog written by your McCook CC Men's Basketball Team, covering their day-to-day lives as both students and athletes at McCook CC. Each week will feature the writings of players. This Week's edition includes blogg from Martin Mlinaric.

McCook is a small, quiet, town with not much to do. Really makes you focus more on school and basketball. We're all smart so school is not a problem. That's all See You Soon

Stellar Indian - Nick Schneiders

Player Name: Nick Schneiders
Hometown: Dixon, NE
Parents: Paul & Lee Schneiders
Coach Lenhart Quote: "Nick has been one the hardest workers I have ever coached, a great teammate and player for the past two years. Nick will be deeply missed!" Forever an Indian -Nick Schneiders!
Nickname: Nikoli
Favorite Sports Hero: Kobe Bryant
If I Could use one word to describe Coach Lenhart it would be: Childlike
People say I look like: Derwin Davis
My Goal in Sport is: Succeed at Everything I Do
My Goal in life is: Succeed at Everything I Do, and Find Out What I Want to Do!
One thing most people don't know about me is: I have 4 sisters, only boy, I am the Middle Child

Readers Note:

The Following is a personal blog written by your McCook CC Men's Basketball Team, covering their day-to-day lives as both students and athletes at McCook CC. Each week will feature the writings of players. This Week's edition includes blogg from Nick Schneiders.

"I am a second year student and athlete at MCC. Classes here are small and teachers know your name. Being an athlete and a student is tough sometimes but as long as you work with your teacher they will usually work with you. Basketball has been up and down this year, but we were playing our Best Basketball at the Region Tournament which is all you can ask for."

Stellar Indian - George Pollard

Player Name: George Pollard
Hometown: Colorado Springs, CO
Parents: Martin & Teresa Felder
This Years Stats: 8ppg, 3rpg, & 4 assists
Coach Lenhart Quote: "George has been the heart and soul of our team this past year, he has the heart of a Lion, he will be deeply missed next year" Forever an Indian -George Pollard!
Nickname: G Baby
Favorite Sports Hero: Chris Paul
If I Could use one word to describe Coach Lenhart it would be: Crazy
People say I look like: Kyrie Irving
My Goal in Sport is: To Win Conference
My Goal in life is: Be Successful
One thing most people don't know about me is: I'm Tall

Readers Note:

The Following is a personal blog written by your McCook CC Men's Basketball Team, covering their day-to-day lives as both students and athletes at McCook CC. Each week will feature the writings of players. This Week's edition includes blogg from George Pollard.

Life at MCC is chill, calm, cool and collective

MCC Heats Up True Hall Gym vs North Platte

The McCook Community College Men's Basketball team looked to have their hands full vs. the Defending Region IX Champions and National Tournmanet Qualifying North Platte Community College Knights. As always, this is a heated bitter rivalary between the two colleges, both located just over an hour apart from one another. True Hall gymnasium looked to be warm and ready for another heated contest between MCC and NPCC!

The MCC/North Platte game was scheduled to be played on Wednesday January 19th, but the weather and the good lord above had something else in mind. Somebody else had a plan, and that plan was for us to play on Thursday instead of Wednesday, and that's what we did. There was a lot of electricity on campus Wednesday, but after the games were postponed it was like somebody blew a socket out of the entire city of McCook.
Head Coach Lenhart and his basketball family seemed optimistic, but still had the feeling that the air had been taken out of their sails. Boy was he wrong!!!!

Both teams came out guns blazing. After the 2 minutes it looked as if it was going to be a battle the entire 40 minutes. Not the case, MCC took a 12 point lead in the 1st 5 minutes of the game, and North Platte made a push and kept it close for the next few minutes of the game. North Platte Community College came within 4 points with a barage of baskets and free throws by Karol Gruszecki (So. Poland), who led all scorers with 40 points. He got his baskets from everywhere last night, lay ups, 3's, and free throws (shooting 14 of the teams 16 free throws on the night). MCC just didn't have an answer for Gruszecki the entire night.

"We tried to make everything as difficult as possible for Karol and Perrin Ashley (Fr. Indianaplois, IN) tonight, we hope to come up with a different plan for the next time we face North Platte. Karol makes everything look so effortless, and he had an incredible game, Perrin hit a lot of shots late when the game was out of reach and when we let down defensively, which is a little disappointing but we will improve and move on."

The last 10 minutes of the 1st half were all MCC, they put their will on North Platte CC on both ends of the floor. MCC was getting stops and scores, hitting a high percentage of their shots, and just put the hammer down on North Platte to close out the half. During the last 3 minutes MCC was up by as much as 25 points, with NPCC making a small run to cut the lead to 17 points with just over a minute to go in the 1st half. MCC ended the half with a last second lay up by Antonio Dye, on what seemed to be a made basket and a foul, but it was a no call. McCook Community College 64 North Platte Community College 43. For those thinking WOW, that's a lot of points, the 2nd half was even better.

"To be up by 21 points at half-time vs. North Platte at any time is pretty special. We wanted our guys to go away from the half, staying hungry and maintaining our level of play the entire 20 minutes of the 2nd half. I asked my assistant, can North Platte Really outscore us by 22 points this half? He replied, if they do than we need to address some really serious problems," stated Lenhart.

MCC didn't exactly start where they left off, with a few missed baskets and not getting stops. North Platte got to the free throw line 3 out of their first 6 possessions, and you could kind of feel the tide start to shift a little bit. Thankfully for MCC the affect was minimial and the closest North Platte would get the rest of the night was 19 points early in the 2nd half. MCC was red hot from behind the 3 point line for the night making 18 of 32 three pointers they took. MCC went up by as many as 30+ points during the 2nd half, cruising to a 25 point victory. McCook Community College 129 North Platte Community College 104.

MCC had 6 players in double figures, doubling the amount of players in double figures for NPCC. Darius Robinson (So. Jacksonsville, FL) led the Indians with 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assits. Michael Cutright (Fr. Las Vegas, NV) added 19 points and 11 rebounds, Eric Cutright (So. Zwolle, LA) added 18 points and 7 rebounds, Antonio Dye (So. Mishawaka, IN) added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, Shawn Tarver (So. Gary, IN) added 17 points and 7 rebounds, and George Pollard (So. Colorado Springs, CO) added 16 points, 11 assists, and 4 rebounds on the night.

"We are very proud of our Basketball Family here at McCommunity College, it was a total team effort. It was a great game for our Community here in McCook to watch and be a part of this special night,and we appreciate all of their great support. We hope to stay even hungrier for our upcoming challenges that lie ahead. We look forward to our game vs. William Penn University on Saturday," Lenhart said.

MCC stays at home for another contest vs William Penn University this Saturday, January 22nd, game time 7:30 pm in True Hall Gymnasium, and another Sub-Region Match-Up will take place in Scottsbluff, NE on Tuesday January 26th Women 5:30 pm and Men at 7:30pm (Mountain Time). Next week is Homecoming week, in which a lot of activities will be taking place leading up to MCC's Contest vs. Northeast Community College, women play at 2:00 pm and Men Follow at 4:00 p.m. The chili cook off will follow after the Men's game!

MCC Smashes Southeast

Starting the second half of a season 1-2 after Christmas break, and going into conference play is never comforting for any program. Having started off the 2nd half of the season poorly, the MCC Basketball Family and it's coaching staff were still very optimistic going into their first conference game of the season, on the road, vs Southeast Community College.

Going up against Southeast at Beatrice, NE has never been an easy task for the Indians. Over the past 3 years under head coach Brandon Lenhart's guidance they have gone 1-2 vs Southeast CC on the road, and they have never swept Southeast CC during an entire season. Having eight returning players back from last years 20-11 team makes things a little easier on a program, but MCC's Roller Coaster season didn't seem as comforting.

Coach Lenhart had said that the practices leading up to the game vs Southeast Community College were highly productive, and it seems as though the Indians are ready to take on the challenges ahead.

The game started off at a 100 yard dash pace for both teams, with McCook CC playing at a high rate of speed both defensively and offensively. Most of the first half, both teams were attacking on both ends of the floor. The contest was a see saw battle with McCook making a strong push towards the end of the 1st half. McCook Community College 47 Southeast Community College 38 at the break.

"We were excited to be up by 8 points at the half, and felt very comfortable on how we had played but knew we were capable of much more than an 8 point lead. We made a few adjusments and talked about staying within the parameters of how we do things at McCook CC. I think that the outcome was evident and doing it the McCook Community Colleg way worked pretty well in our favor," said Lenhart.

With 12 minutes to play MCC was up 19 points and Southeast Community College looked stunned. After stunning them the 1st 8 minutes in the 2nd half, MCC continued with their stun gun tactics, winning by 26 points in the 2nd half. It was a lot of fun, but it was business as usual. MCC's coaching staff kept pushing them to do better throughout the entire 2nd half, as they have been up by double digit margins late in games and see that drift away and get themselves into hot water. Tonight was a different story as MCC rolled to a 34 point victory, the largest margin of victory for MCC vs a junior college team this 2010-2011 season.

Antonio Dye (Fr. Mishawaka, IN) led the way for the Indians with 33pts, 8 rebounds, 9assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Dye was 2 rebounds and 1 assist shy from a triple double. MCC had 4 other players score double digits with Darius Robinson (So Jacksonville, FL) scoring 21, Eric Cutright (So. Zwolle, LA) with 16, Michael Cutright Jr (Fr. Las Vegas, NV) with 15, and Shawn Tarver Jr (So. Gary, IN) ending the night with 13. Eric Cutright led MCC and both teams in rebouding with 12, his 1st double digit rebounding game of the season.

"This was a total team victory, and it feels really good. It's very comforting to know that our team is playing for that name on the front of the jersey not the name on the back. We are very blessed to be playing at this level during this time of the year. We have a lot of season left, and hope to carry this momentum vs Arch Rival and Defending Region IX Champions North Platte Community College on January 19th at 7:30pm in True Hall Gymnasium," stated Lenhart.

Stellar Indian

Player Name: Shawn Tarver Jr.
Hometown: Gary, Indiana
Parents: Nicole Walden
This Years Stats: 9points 8rebounds and 1 block
Coach Lenhart Quote: "Shawn has been a rock for us, he has been an unbelievable asset both on and off the floor for his two years. He has become an all around student athlete here at MCC. Shawn will be missed deeply nexy year!" Forever an Indian -Shawn Tarver!
Nickname: S.T.
Favorite Sports Hero: Branden Dawson
If I Could use one word to describe Coach Lenhart it would be: Emotional
People say I look like: Ludacris
My Goal in Sport is: To Continue To Get Better Until I am The Best
My Goal in life is: To Have No Regrets When It's All Said and Done
One thing most people don't know about me is: I Love Cartoons

Readers Note:

The Following is a personal blog written by your McCook CC Men's Basketball Team, covering their day-to-day lives as both students and athletes at McCook CC. Each week will feature the writings of players. This Week's edition includes blogg from Shawn Tarver Jr..

"Going into Christmas Break we are 8-6! It's a Dissapointment, but I am noticing the losses we faced are making us stronger by the minute. Hopefully when we return we continue to grow and not stay still as far as a TEAM! We Can't Go Back To Squre One! REGION TIME, LET'S GOOOOOOOO!"

MCC Takes On Hastings College

After dropping 2 games vs Lamar CC and Otero JC a few days earlier, McCook Community College hoped to get on track with a solid performance vs Hastings College JV. In the past MCC has handled Hastings by 30 points or better in the begining of their season, and struggled when they play at Hastings.

This year was a little different, MCC jumped on Hastings early, going up by as much as 18 points with 8 minutes left in the 1st half. After a timeout by Hastings College at the 8 minute mark, Hastings went on a 10-0 run in the next 3 minutes. Hastings cut the lead to 8 points with just under 5 minutes to play in the 1st half. MCC grinded out the 1st half to lead 41-35 at the break.

"We told them at the 8 minute mark up 18, to not let up and continue to play our way and let the system do the work. Unfortunately, we went on missions and didn't get back in transition and Hastings climbed back into the game," stated Lenhart.

MCC once again came out very strong in the begining of the 2nd half, and jumped out on Hastings by double digits in the early going. MCC really played well in spurts on Tuesday night, making some pretty solid runs to closeout the game. Although the score might not show it, MCC handled Hastings College from start to finish winning 93-80.

MCC had 6 guys in double figures, Darius Robinson (So. Jacksonville, FL) lead the balanced attack for MCC with 25 points, Shawn Tarver (So. Gary, IN) with 18, Antonio Dye (So. Mishawaka, IN) with 14, Eric Cutright (So. Zwolle, LA) with 12, George Pollard (So. Colorado Springs, CO) with 12, and Martin Mlinaric (So. Croatia) with 10pts. Antonio Dye led MCC in rebounding and assists as well with 11 rebounds and 9 assists, 1 assist shy of a tripple double.

"It wasn't pretty at times, but we handled Hastings tonight. We hope to use this momentum going into Saturday's game vs. Southeast Community College. We have a lot of room for improvement, and we hope to get better each and every day. We hope to be playing our best basketball when it really counts," said Lenhart.

Christmas Blues

Vs. LAMAR CC 1/7/2011

McCook Community College came back from Christmas Break, ready to work but seemed to be a step slow at the North Platte Classic. Our first contest vs Lamar Community College was a battle. Eventhough the score was close most of the game, McCook CC couldn't quite get in rythym on either end of the floor.
"The first games after Christmas Break are always a struggle, having 18 days off without doing a college level workout, can really set you back, and it did vs Lamar tonight", said head coach Brandon Lenhart.
One of McCook Community College's staples is their rebounding. MCC was out rebounded 34 to 41. McCook has a plus five rebounding advantage over its opponents this year, but they didn't show up to rebound vs Lamar! Another category MCC struggled in was defensive field goal percentage, allowing Lamar CC to make 52% of their shots, while Lamar held MCC to 36% from the field.
"To allow a team to score 87 points, and for them to shoot at a 52% clip from the field is something we can't allow, especially since we shot the ball so poor. These are statistics/categories we have to improve on in a hurry if we want to compete at the highest level," stated Lenhart.
Darius Robinson (So. Jacksonville, FL), Antonio Dye (So. Mishawaka, IN), and Michael Cutright Jr (Fr. Las Vegas, NV) led MCC in scoring, the only three players to reach double figures. Darius led MCC with 28 points, Antonio with 18, and Michael with 16 points. Antonio Dye, Michael Cutright, and Shawn Tarver (So. Gary, IN) all led in rebounding with 6 rebounds per player.

Vs. OTERO JC 1/8/2011

McCook Community College, must have had a little bit of rest, as they came out and played much better vs. Otero Junior College on Saturday. Several lead changes took place throughout the entire first half of the contest, with Otero JC leading MCC at the break 39-35. McCook Community College struggled the entire contest with transition defense, especially leaving Dylan Fritsch, a freshmen guard from Otero Junior College open as he drilled several three pointers in transition. Fritsch ended up the second leading scorer of the game behind MCC's Michael Cutright Jr (Fr. Las Vegas, NV) who led all scorers with 27 points and a team high 8 rebounds as well.
McCook Community College battled the entire 2nd half to gain the lead with 2 minutes left in the contest. MCC had two chances to push the lead to 3 points or more, but failed to do so. Otero JC gained a 1 point advantage with a little over 45 seconds to play. MCC had the ball and a chance to take the lead what seemed to be their last possession of the game on offense. A turnover by George pollard with 4.8 seconds left, gave Otero the ball and a one point advantage. A quick fould and 3.8 seconds left, Otero had 2 shots to put them up 3. Otero missed both free throws, Antonio Dye rebounded the Otero's missed opportunity and dribbled to half court and heaved up a shot that banged off the back of the rim. Otero JC 77- McCook CC 76.
"We played much better today than we did last night vs Lamar. We have a lot of improvements to make before conference play next Saturday at Southeast Community College. Luckily we have a few practices and another game vs Hastings College this next Tuesday. We will learn from this entire situation this weekend, and move forward," said Lenhart.

MCC Ends 1st Semester 8-6

The MCC Men's Basketball family ended the 1st semester of the 2010-2011 season by avenging two earlier season losses vs Northeastern Junior College(Sterling, CO) and Colby Community College (Colby, KS)!
The first semester was a roller coaster ride of wins & losses, trials & tribulations! The Indians began the season 3-0, with the 3rd win of the season over traditional powerhouse Iowa Western CC! MCC lead 37 minutes of the contest and cruised to a double digit victory! Beating Iowa Western CC in their home opener was another signature victory under the guidance of Head Coach Brandon Lenhart! "Any time you can win a road game in junior college it's a plus. It was just an added bonus to beat Iowa Western CC, a team we respect highly! Our guys followed the game plan and came away with a big Win", stated Lenhart.
After a huge win, MCC played Des Moines Area Community College(Boone, IA) and lost by a wide margin! Des Moines Area CC was undefeated as well and ranked #3 in the Country Division II NJCAA! DMACC sent us on a 5 game skid, waters that MCC haven't treaded in Lenhart's tenure!
The Indians battled a lot of adversity with 3 losses coming by 4 points or less! Although the MCC Indians went on a 5 game skid, they managed to end the semester 5-1. Lenhart hopes to carry the momentum from the end of 1st semester to 2nd semester! "We are very excited about the direction of our program, we are starting to figure some things out. We have so much room for improvemnt and hope to be playing our best baskettball in March! It's a marathon not a sprint!"