South
Plains are crowned Division I champions South Plains - Salt Lake CC
67:56
South Plains edged Salt Lake CC to claim the second straight Division I national
title for WJCAC yesterday. They brought the trophy back to the Western Junior
College Athletic Conference following the last season triumph of Midland. But
the way to cutting down the net was not an easy one. The Bruins kept South
Plains scoreless for some time early in the game and despite breaking the
scoring deadlock the Texans were down 4:17 midway through the half. But South
Plains found their savior in sophomore guard
Nick Okorie (6'0''-G). He drained 7 points to fuel a 20:5 run for the Texans
as they capped the first half leading by 5 points 24:19. The scoring improved
drastically in the second half but
Nick Okorie was unstoppable at the moment. He fired from all distances and
ignited an 11:0 run that put South Plains up by 16 points with just over 6
minutes remaining. Salt Lake struggled to hit open shots and though they trimmed
the deficit to 9 points late in the game it was as close as they could get.
Nick Okorie finished with game-high 29 points for the Texans. David Tairu
added 14 points, while
Jonathan Hall (6'4''-G) provided 13 points and 6 boards for the winners.
Davell Jackson had 19 points and 8 boards for Salt Lake. Andy Palmer dropped 10
points in a losing case. The Bruins outrebounded the winners 44:40 but were less
accurate from the field. They launched 50% of field goals, while the Texans sank
55%. The Bruins also suffered 15 turnovers down the stretch. Jonathan Hall was trumped the tournament's MVP. South Plains' head coach
Steve Green was named the Coach of the Year. Brain Green of Salt Lake was
proclaimed the Best Small Player. All-Tournament Team included Brian Green and
Davell Jackson of South Plains,
Nick Okorie and
Jonathan Hall of South Plains, Dwight Buycks and Dwight Hardy of Indian
Hills, Reggie Chamberlain and
Darko Cohadarevic (6'9''-F-86) from Seward County, Mario Little of Chipola,
Bryan Sherrer of Three Rivers, Eric Tramiel of Paris and Eastern Arizona's
Will Bynum (6'3''-G).
South Plains:
Nick Okorie 29, David Tairu 14,
Jonathan Hall 13 Salt Lake: Davell Jackson 19, Andy Palmer 10
Mott
CC defends Division II title Mott CC - Columbus State CC
83:73
Mott CC rewrote history yesterday claiming their third Division II National
title. Their victory also marked the back-to-back title wins for the Bears. Mott
CC opened the game aggressively and accounted for first 12 points of the game.
But Columbus State stayed alert and clawed their way back into contest. The
Cougars stepped in front midway through the half and kept ahead till late in the
half. But consecutive triples from Jeremie Simmons and Jacquez Williams put the
Bears in front at halftime. Jeremie Simmons and Deandre Nealy spurred Mott at
the start of the second half. Consequently Columbus State did not recover after
the long break. The Bears looked too good and kept the Cougars at bay for the
reminder of the game. Jeremie Simmons paced Mott CC with 23 points. Deandre
Nealy posted 21 points, 5 boards and 4 blocks, while Jacquez Williams scored 11
points for the winners. Greg Rice nailed 26 points for Columbus State CC.
Marcus Britt (6'3''-G) dropped 21 points for the Cougars. Deandre Nealy was
named the tournament's MVP. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 boards and 6 blocks in
4 games for Mott. Columbus State shot impressive 62% from the field including
55% from beyond the arc but still did not manage to succeed.
Penn Valley's Peirre De Clue received the Jack Cistriano Award as the Best Small
Man of the tournament. Danville's Anthony Lee Ingram was given the Sportsmanship
Award. All-Tournament Team included Jacquez Williams and Jeremie Simmons of
Mott, Greg Rice, Mariano Bowles and
Marcus Britt of Columbus State, Ali Farokhmanesh and Cory Viet of Kirkwood,
Sergey Struck from Danville, Robert Tre Golston of South Mountain, Ray
Blcackburn of Erie and South Suburban's Elijah Muhammad Cunningham.
Mott CC: Jeremie Simmons 23, Deandre Nealy 21, Jacquez Williams
11 Columbus State: Greg Rice 26,
Marcus Britt 21
North
Lake College triumphs in NJCAA Division III
North Lake College clinched the
NJCAA Division III title edging Joliet Junior College in the final game. North
Lake College was not among the favorites before the National tournament. They
were ranked 10th enjoying 14-15 overall record in the season. But they beat the
odds claiming a historic victory. The Blazers first overcame Central Lakes
College 62:60 in the quarterfinal. Then they toppled Hostos CC 66:59 to reach
the title decider. There North Lake were opposed by the 8th-ranked Joliet Junior
College. The Blazers got to an aggressive start of the game and grabbed a 15:9
lead midway through the first half. Despite all the efforts from the Wolves
North Lake stayed ahead and finalized a 39:32 advantage at halftime.
The Blazers got use of their dominance under the rims to maintain the pressure
on Joliet College keeping them at safe distance. But the intrigue revived when
the Wolves capitalized on a couple of turnovers from the Blazers and cut the
deficit to 3 points. Adam Short nailed a three-pointer then to tie the scoreline
at 65. Bryant Ross and James Wilson restored a 4-point cushion for the Blazers
but William Bills drilled a jumper to drag Joliet within 2. The teams exchanged
free throws at the dying stage with North Lake keeping their opponents at bay.
But the Wolves still had a chance to save the day as they were trailing by 3
points and had the final possession. But they Joliet College wasted it and
sealed North Lake College victory. Brian Sanders was named the tournament's MVP.
He paced the victors with 23 points, while Jamie Egenti added 14 points for the
Blazers. Ryan Owens answered with 20 points for the Wolves. Marcus Moore dropped
16 points in defeat.
There were the tournament's awards distributed after the final game. North Lake
head coach Tim McGraw was trumped the Coach of the Tournament.
All-Tournament Team comprised Kody Braddix of Central Lakes, Nathan Pratt of the
North Lake, Ryan Owens from Joliet College, Kevin Womack of centersex CC, Edgar
Martinez of Springfield Technical CC, Tariq Ugdah from Montgomery
College-Germantown, Nicholas Lopez of Hostos CC and SUNY Cobleskill's Stanley
Francois.
NJCAA
Tournament Awards 2008
Hall
Okorie
Chamberlain
Cohadarevic
Sherrer
NJCAA Tournament MVP:Jonathan Hall (6'4''-G) of South Plains College NJCAA Tournament Best Coach:Steve Green of South Plains College NJCAA Tournament Small Player Award:Brian Green (5'11''-G) of Salt Lake CC NJCAA Tournament Sportmanship Award:Nikola Kecman (6'9''-F-86) of Eastern Arizona College
