Men's Basketball Falls in RegionTourney
Article Courtesy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph
A Tyler Junior College basketball team, consisting of eight freshmen, ended their up and down season on Wednesday in another frustrating close loss.
The 77-74 defeat to No. 8 seed Blinn College in the first round of Region XIV Tournament at Wagstaff Gymnasium meant the Apaches finish the season at 14-14.
Blinn (18-13) advances to the quarterfinals to meet No. 1 seed Paris at 1 p.m. today at UT Tyler's Herrington Patriot Center.
Four straight free throws by TJC's Dominique Shaw, a freshman from Lufkin, tied the contest at 74-74 with 1:18. Before each trips to the free throw line, Japhet Davis-Sophus, a freshman from Houston made two standout defensive plays for the Apaches — the first a five-second call on Blinn guard Jalan McCloud and the second he stood his ground as Jourdan Stickler was called for an illegal screen.
The Apaches also appeared to have a breakaway steal when Levi Yancy, a freshman from White Oak, swiped the ball from Macari Brooks. He was headed in for an easy bucket, but was whistled for a foul. Brooks then drained two free throws to give the Buccaneers the 76-74 lead with 1:05 to go.
But the Apaches had three more chances. First, sophomore guard Todd Eaglin's 3-point attempt came up just short. After a foul, BC's Cornell Barnett missed both free throw attempts. Tyler came down and Davis-Sophus missed a 3.
Brooks made 1 of 2 free throw attempts and with 9.7 seconds left, Blinn led 77-74.
So there was one more chance, but Shaw was stripped of the ball before he could launch a 3-point attempt with 1.4 seconds left. The Bucs missed both FTs, but Yancy's ¾ court shot was off the mark.
It was the eighth game in which the Apaches were involved when the final margin was six or less. TJC finished 2-6 in those games.
"We missed a couple of threes late and if those go in we are probably celebrating now," TJC Mike Marquis said. "We played really well; about as well as we are capable. Dom had a great second half (19 of his 21 points) and Faith (Pope) had a terrific game (18 points). Tyler (Miller) had a good game too (17 points). Those are three freshmen we can build on."
Four Buccaneers scored in double figures, led by Brooks' 15 points. Barnett added 14.
In the first half, Blinn hit on 8 of 13 3-point attempts against the Tyler zone. In the second half, Marquis switched to man defense and Blinn was limited to 1 of 5 from long distance.
The Apaches actually out-rebounded the taller Bucs, 35-32, including 10 offensive boards. Yancy and Pope each had nine rebounds.
Eaglin had eight assists and nine points in his final game as an Apache.
Barnett had nine boards to lead the Buccaneers.
With eight freshmen returning, Marquis is looking forward to next season. Eaglin and Jon Alexander are the only sophomores on the team.
SMOKE SIGNALS: The men's games were switched to Wagstaff Gymnasium after icy road conditions forced a postponement of Tuesday's games. … UT Tyler will host the remaining games today, Friday and Saturday.
No. 8 Blinn 77, No. 9 Tyler 74
TYLER – Levi Yancy, 3; Dominique Shaw, 21; Todd Eaglin, 9; Jon Alexander, 1; Faith Pope, 18; Tyler Miller, 17; Vamba Donzo, 3; Ravaughn Gayle, 2; Japhet Davis-Sophus, 0.
BLINN – Cornell Barnett, 14; Jalan McCloud, 11; Lionheart Leslie, 6; Macari Brooks, 15; Jourdan Stickler, 6; Eric Ross, 7; Eddie Alcantara, 13; Terrell Guy, 2; Kendall Deveaux, 2; Roderick Harris, 0; Jacoby Green, 0.
HALFTIME SCORE – Blinn 37-33.
THREE-POINT GOALS – TJC: Eaglin (2), Pope, Donzo. BC: McCloud (2), Leslie, Stickler (2), Alcantara (3), Guy.
RECORDS – Tyler 14-14, Blinn 18-13.
NEXT UP – Tyler season complete; Blinn vs. Paris, 1 p.m. Thursday, Herrington Patriot Center, UT Tyler.
Region XIV Men'sTournament
Wednesday's Games
At Wagstaff Gymnasium, Tyler Junior College
First Round
Game 1: No. 8 Blinn 77, No. 9 Tyler 74
Game 2: No. 12 Angelina 82, No. 5 Navarro 76
Game 3: No. 7 Lee 105, No. 10 Jacksonville 88
Game 4: No. 6 Kilgore 73, No. 11 Panola 71
Thursday's Games
Herrington's Patriot Center,
UT Tyler
Quarterfinals
Game 5: Blinn vs. No. 1 Paris, 1 p.m.
Game 6: Angelina vs. No. 4 Lamar State-Port Arthur, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Lee vs. No. 2 Trinity Valley, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Kilgore vs. No. 3 San Jacinto, 8 p.m.
Friday's Games
Herrington's Patriot Center,
UT Tyler
Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday's Game
Herrington's Patriot Center,
UT Tyler
Final
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 8 p.m.
- See more at: http://www.etfinalscore.com/ET-Basketball/195862/apaches-edged-out-by-blinn-7774-at-region-xiv-day-1#sthash.cPcksUS1.dpuf