BEEVILLE – The visiting Tyler Junior College Apaches just wanted it more, according to Coastal Bend College head basketball coach Larry Mendez, after Wednesday night’s 71-62 loss.

“I thought our guys played well but not well enough to win the game. We just didn’t play like we have been playing the past few weeks,’ said Mendez.

“But, I think the guys recognize it and we will make the correct adjustments as we move forward.”

The teams battled through a close first half but the energy plays, getting to the loose balls, rebounding and running the floor were the attributes of the visitors, not the Cougars.

The Apaches held a slim margin of 34-32 after the first 20 minutes and never trailed in the first half after taking an early 9-8 lead. The Cougars opened well with an 8-3 start but could not sustain that momentum.

CBC did make a run at the Apaches midway through the second half, piling up eight straight points to take a 49-48 lead. The visitors quickly regrouped and regained the lead and never relinquished it.

The final was a nine-point loss for the Cougars that left them at 10-3 overall on the season and 4-2 in Region XIV play through Wednesday night’s play.

The CBC men were led in scoring by Derrick Little with 14 points in the loss. Brandon Golden and Donald Dallas each contributed 12 points.

“I think we overall just didn’t want to win the game as bad as Tyler and they deserved to win the game,” Mendez said.

The Cougars’ next home game will be tonight (Wednesday) when the Jacksonville College Jaguars pay a visit to the CBC gym.