Contact: Jerry Nichols
Head Men's Basketball Coach
(931) 393-1620
jnichols@mscc.edu
March 26, 2012
South Plains College (Texas) completed a perfect 36-0 season by winning the National Junior Community College Athletic Association championship with an 81-68 win over Northwest Florida State. Read the Story.
March 12, 2012
The Motlow Bucks stood toe-to-toe with the Columbia State Chargers for 40 minutes, but when the final horn sounded the top-seeded Chargers had escaped the TCCAA/Region VII Tournament championship game with a 59-56 victory that sends them to Hutchinson, Kansas for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) tournament.
"The guys played really hard and gave great effort during the tournament," said head coach Jerry Nichols, now 54-27 after three seasons in Lynchburg. "We are not satisfied with finishing second two years in a row, but it says a lot about our program for us to get to that point two straight years."
For the Bucks (17-11) it is a bitter pill to swallow, receiving the silver ball runner-up trophy for the second consecutive year. Motlow led 28-25 at halftime as freshman Sean Gardner hit an off-balance three pointer at the buzzer.
Motlow's Andrew Scofield hit a three-pointer with 58 seconds to play in the game to cut Columbia's four point lead to one. However, Charger guard Masceo Harmon, who led all scorers with 19 points, drained a bucket to extend the lead back to three with 30 seconds remaining.
John Taylor, who was named to the All-Tournament team along with Gardner, found the basket with 13 seconds left to again cut the lead to one at 57-56.
The Bucks then fouled Devonta James of Columbia State and James sank both free throws, setting up a final shot for the Bucks with the Chargers leading 59-56. Raul Tutton's three-point attempt didn't connect at the buzzer though, and the Chargers began their title celebration.
Head coach Jerry Nichols' third edition of the Bucks entered the tournament seeded sixth, but played throughout the weekend on a mission to avenge last year's loss to Chattanooga State in the finals. They came about as close as they could, beating third-seed Roane State 82-77 in Wednesday's second round and Cleveland State 81-74 in the semifinals.
"This sophomore class made two consecutive state title games so that is an accomplishment that they can be proud of," added Nichols. "The best thing about it is that all eight of our sophomores will graduate in May, and that is really why we are here is to help these young men graduate."
Motlow started the Columbia State game with a Tutton basket and with both teams shooting poorly early the Chargers led 4-3 with 15 minutes to play in the first half. Columbia's Kendall Jennings hit a three pointer with seven minutes gone to give the Chargers their biggest lead of the first half at 10-4.
But as they did all game, the Bucks responded. Tutton nailed a three pointer to cut the lead to 10-7, and Taylor's layup with 11 minutes left in the half gave the Bucks a 12-10 lead. Taylor finished with 14 points, while Tutton and Gardner each scored 13.
Another offensive rebound and put-back by Taylor gave the Bucks their biggest lead of the half at 14-10 after 10 minutes of play, but Columbia State's Greg McGee, who was later named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, scored two quick buckets and the Chargers once again led 18-14.
Tutton hit two free throws and a layup to once again tie the score at 21-21. Jennings was called for a technical foul with 30 second left in the half, and Scofield nailed both free throws to give Motlow a 25-24 lead. James hit a free throw to tie it at 25 before Gardner's off-balance three pointer gave the Bucks their 28-25 lead.
Motlow slowly increased its lead to as many as seven points a couple of times early in the second half, the last one coming with 17 minutes to play when Tutton's driving layup gave the Bucks a 34-27 lead. Harmon immediately responded with a three pointer to ignite the Chargers on an 11-0 run that left them leading 38-34 with 12 minutes remaining.
Taylor and Gardner scored baskets, then JC Bonny hit a pair of free throws and with 7:30 left to play the Bucks had cut the lead to 47-46. Again it was Harmon who answered, connecting on another three to increase the Columbia State lead to 50-46.
Gardner hit another three-pointer to cut the lead to 55-51 with two minutes to play, setting in motion the final 58 seconds that began with Scofield's three.
Motlow sophomore Ricky Tisdale, who missed the tournament with a leg injury, was named to the All-TCCAA second team along with Scofield. Roane State's Kinard Gadsen-Gilliard was named the Most Valuable Player for the season while Cleveland State's Nick Ross was named the top freshman.
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