Lamar State gets bye, opens conference tournament play on Saturday

[LamarStatesports]

Eight junior college teams will square off Thursday in the first round of the Region XIV Tournament in the Louise Herrington Patriot Center at the University of Texas-Tyler.

Lamar State College-Port Arthur qualified for the tournament for the first time in the school’s history, but the Seahawks don’t have to play in the first round.

Lamar State moved to 20-9 overall and 10-9 in conference action Saturday, when they soared over the Lee College Runnin’ Rebels, 95-72, to take second place in Region XIV’s South Zone and earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

The Seahawks join three other teams – Paris Junior College, San Jacinto College and Navarro College – finished first and second in Region XIV two zones, giving them the luxury of not having to play until Saturday.

LSC-PA head Coach Matt Cross said his team looks forward to making more history for the college.

“I am excited that our team was able to accomplish so many first-time achievements in the history of Lamar State’s program during the regular season,” Cross said. “I describe them as the ‘little engine that could’ because we are small in numbers, and our freshmen just look like that are 18 years old on the court. But those freshmen really matured as the season progressed. I now can say confidently that we are the ‘little engine that could win a regional championship.’ ”

Lamar State plays at 3 p.m. Saturday in the quarter-finals against the winner of Thursday’s contest between Trinity Valley Community College and Panola College.

The Seahawks went to overtime with both teams this season in the Carl Parker Center, winning 105-102 over Panola and losing 68-75 to Trinity Valley.

“We are in a great position as the No. 4 seed, and if we can get the ball to bounce our way, then we will be well on our way to cutting down the nets in Tyler with a conference championship,” Cross said. “To do that, we must continue to play with confidence on offense, shoot the ball well from the perimeter and play tough defense. We need to improve our intelligence level and have it match our intensity.”

If Lamar State wins Saturday, they would play in the semi-finals at 6 p.m. Sunday. A win in that game would propel the Seahawks into the conference championship game at 8 p.m. Monday.

The winner of the Region XIV Tournament advances to the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division I Championship Tournament, March 16-20 in Hutchinson, KS.

Lamar State will be headquartered at the Hilton Garden Inn in Tyler. Seahawks fans will be extended the team rate of $85 per night. For reservations, call Tracey Morales at (903) 509-1166.

Seahawk Notes

* Sophomore forward Ahyaro Phillips is ranked No. 8 in the nation in rebounding and No. 11 in shot blocking. Freshman guard Von Jones is No. 14 in assists. The Seahawks are No. 25 in the nation in offense with 82.345 points per game.

* Freshman forward Gordon Ball was the Region XIV Player of the Week for Feb. 22-27 after he posted double-doubles in Lamar State’s wins over Panola College and Lee College. He scored 14 points, including eight straight points late in the second half, and pulled down nine rebounds Wednesday against Panola. Ball scored a career-high 17 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds Saturday against Lee.

* Freshman forward Dion Waiters ended the regular season as the No. 1 ball stealer in Region XIV. He collected 80 steals in just 17 games (4.7 per game), compared to the No. 2 player’s 75 steals in 27 games.

* Sophomore forward Ahyaro Phillips was second in the conference in rebounding (11.2 per game) and blocked shots (103 blocks, 3.6 per game). Phillips actually one more shot than the conference leader, Latay Darden of Paris Junior College, who had 102. Darden was No. 1 because he played in fewer games and had a 4.3 block-per-game average.

* Freshman guard Von Jones was No. 2 in the conference in assists and No. 5 in steals.

* The Seahawks led all Region XIV teams this season in total points, steals and rebounds.

* Three teams in the conference tournament are ranked in the final NJCAA poll of the regular season, with Paris Junior College at No. 14, San Jacinto College at No. 20 and Navarro College just outside the Top 25.

[w518991]

They missed Nick in the regional leaders in 3pt% he was 36 of 80 at 45% which made him #2 in that category for the year

[LamarStatesports]

You're correct. Nck dropped out of the 3-point standings a few weeks ago because his attempts dropped below the category threshold.

But in Week 15, the threshold was a minimum of 70 attempts. I'll contact the Region XIV stats collector tomorrow and see what he has to say.

Nick's three-point shooting really played a big part in the Seahawks last two wins. It's not that he made that many, but after he hit a couple of long ones from the corners, the other teams had to play him tighter, which opened up the inside players to score.

Nick was on the floor for the entire OT against Panola. I wasn't at the Lee game, so I don't know what happened there.