Collin College Men's Basketball took Weatherford College into overtime and battled hard against Temple College on the road but lost both of its opening conference games by slim margins. The Cougars opened the year with a pair of wins at home the first two days back from winter break.

Collin ran away with a 101-49 win over Strength in Motion Preparatory on Jan. 2. Vinny Sigona led the team with 19 points, sinking 8-11 from the field. He was followed by Garrett Falls with 17 points and Geancarlo Peguero with 12. The team shot well, putting up a 57.8% performance from the field and a sinking 15 of 30 from beyond the arc.

The team defeated Creating Your Minds Prep 81-79 the following day with another strong performance by Falls, who put up 25 points. He was followed by David Emelife with 17 points and Sigona with 13. Falls also notched five steals and a block in the game. Emelife added one block, as did Vladislav Karasev and Lucciano Basile.

The Cougars came back from a 10-point deficit at the half of their first conference game of the year but fell 80-77 in overtime to Weatherford College. Collin outshot the Coyotes from the field and from beyond the three-point line but gave up too many turnovers. Weatherford also edged Collin when it came to free throws, sinking 23 to Collin's 18.

Sigona led the team with 29 points, followed by Emelife with 18 and Falls with 12.

Turnovers bit Collin again in its 81-76 loss to Temple on Jan. 11. Temple recorded 11 steals in the game which was otherwise evenly matched. Emelife put up 20 points, followed by Falls with 17 and Brady Kennison with 12.

The two losses give Collin lots of room to improve in the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference (NTJCAC) rankings. The Cougars play Ranger College and Hill College at home over the next two weeks before hitting the road to meet McLennan Community College.