Lamar State will face Trinity Valley in Region XIV quarterfinals

[LamarStatesports]

The Lamar State College-Port Arthur Seahawks enter the Region XIV quarterfinals Saturday against Trinity Valley Community College, one of four teams which survived Thursday’s first round of the conference tournament in the Louise Herrington Patriot Center at the University of Texas-Tyler.

Twelve teams qualified for the tournament. Lamar State, 20-10 overall and 10-9 in conference action, finished second in the South Zone to earn a first-round bye along with Navarro College, North Zone winner Paris Junior College and South Zone winner San Jacinto College.

Trinity Valley trailed Panola by four points, 32-28, at halftime in their first-round game. The Cardinals opened the second half with a 27-0 run to take a commanding 23-point lead, then held on to win 82-73.

Lamar State head coach Matt Cross got the match-up he was hoping for. The Seahawks wanted another shot at the Cardinals after losing their regular season game, 75-68, in overtime Jan. 30 in the Carl Parker Center.

“That was a game we should have won in regulation,” Cross said. “We were in control and then just didn’t take care of the ball, missed some crucial free throws and let them tie it up go to overtime. We will be much more focused this time.”

Sophomore forward Ahyaro Phillips, the Seahawks’ leading rebounder and shot blocker, sat out the first game with an injury. So, having him in the lineup Saturday will be a big plus, Cross said.

“Trinity Valley is very talented, and they play tough pressing defense for all 40 minutes of a game,” Cross said. “We are a much better team than we were in January. But we will have to play our best basketball of the year to win.”

Other first-round action saw Tyler Junior College edge Lon Morris, 62-62; Jacksonville College dispatch Kilgore College, 70-53 and Lee College blow out Angelina College, 84-58.

Jacksonville plays No. 1 seed Paris Junior College at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Lamar State and Trinity Valley follow at 3 p.m.

Tyler faces No. 2 seed Navarro College at 6 p.m.

No. 3 seed San Jacinto College and Lee College close Saturday’s action at 8 p.m.

The winner of Monday night’s championship game will advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division I Championship Tournament, March 16-20 in Hutchinson, KS.

Seahawk Notes

* The three-point accuracy of Lamar State freshman guard Nick Walters from Silsbee was inadvertently omitted from the final conference statistics. Walters hit 36 of his 80 three-point attempts and should have been listed at No. 2 in the conference in that category. The Region XIV statistics compiler revised the final regular season numbers Monday to reflect Walters’ accomplishment.