The Nebraska Christian College Men's Basketball Team opened up the 2019-2020 season on the road against Emmaus Bible College on Thursday, October 24th. Nebraska Christian and Emmaus each debuted new-comers in the season opener, which made for an exciting night for several young men. However, the Sentinels were still the more experienced team, and looked it, as they cruised to a 126-53 victory.
The Sentinels got out in transition early and used strong inside play to quickly build a lead. The defensive effort followed to ensure that the quick start would not go to waste. After 8 minutes of play the Sentinels were up 25-6 and never looked back. At half, the score was 62-27 in favor of the Sentinels. NCC shared the ball nicely and had 7 players, including all 5 starters, with 6 or more points at the break.
The Sentinels continued this pattern into the second half. They were able to dominate the rebounding and fast break point categories to continue building the lead. Coach Williams was able to go to his bench early and often and maintain similar energy and production. In total, 70 of the Sentinels' 126 points were scored by players new to the program, and 9 Sentinels finished in double figures.
Statistically, many Sentinels had strong performances. Most notably,
Uzi Felix paced the team with 18 points,
Jordan Makanjuola had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds,
LeAnte Mitchell provided 10 points and 9 rebounds off the bench, and returning guards
Kyle Bohuslavsky and
Jeff Butler provided 15 and 14 points respectively while combining to shoot over 70% from the field.
Emmaus Bible College (0-1) will play Northwestern Ohio on Friday, November 1st. The Sentinels (1-0) will return to action on November 1st and 2nd at the Bellevue/NCC Classic. Nebraska Christian and Bellevue University work together to co-host this fantastic event each season with quality competition. This year, the Sentinels will play Haskelll Indian Nations University and Briar Cliff University in the night cap games. All games will be played on the campus of Bellevue University at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
