Posted 1:54 am Thursday, February 21, 2008
TJC Apaches Shocked By Blinn, 94-76
Apache Ladies Upset Blinn
By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer
BRENHAM - Sooner or later, the Tyler Junior College men's basketball team was bound to lose.
Staff Writer
BRENHAM - Sooner or later, the Tyler Junior College men's basketball team was bound to lose.
Better now than in the regional tournament next month.
Blinn College drilled 15 3-pointers at home Wednesday night, and had the lead for the final 23 1/2 minutes in a 94-76 upset that snapped the No. 8 Apaches' 11-game winning streak.
The loss sent TJC to 22-2 overall and 16-2 in league play, but the Apaches got help from Paris (14-4) to maintain a two-game lead. The second-place Dragons lost at home to San Jacinto (13-5), 80-73.
In the early game at Blinn, the Apache Ladies won a 77-76 thriller to sweep the season series from the No. 18 Lady Bucs (23-4, 12-3).
Men
Blinn (16-10, 9-9), which entered the night in the all-important eighth position in the conference, improved its regional tournament chances with a deserving win over the Apaches.
The Bucs shot 50 percent overall, 48 percent from 3-point range, and 77 percent (23 of 30) from the free throw line.
In contrast, TJC shot 42 percent overall and converted only four of 27 3-point shots. The loss overshadowed a big-time performance by 6-6 freshman Joseph Fulce, who finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds. He was 13-of-18 from the field.
Five players scored in double figures for Blinn, which maintained a double-digit lead for the final 4:45.
"Joe had a really big game, but we didn't play inside-out enough in the first half and we played a lot of minutes without Randall," said TJC head coach Mike Marquis, referring to point guard Randall Hampton, who picked up two early fouls. "That's really the first time this year that's happened to us, so maybe in the long run that part is a good experience.
"Blinn just played terrific."
The Bucs caught fire from the 3-point line late in the first half, getting three straight treys from Jamal Edwards to help build a five-point lead at the break.
The Bucs caught fire from the 3-point line late in the first half, getting three straight treys from Jamal Edwards to help build a five-point lead at the break.
"You're not always going to overcome that," Marquis said. "We have a couple of times this year, but we were at home. We're disappointed with the loss...but hopefully we're a little more ready.
"Tonight we just didn't have that spark. Saturday will be a big game over in Kilgore."
Marquis conceded the loss with 2:48 to play by removing his starters with Blinn leading by 12.
Women
The Apache Ladies (19-7, 9-5) protected their goal as if it was a gold mine in the final 22 seconds, as they were protecting a one-point lead.
Blinn got the final possession after a TJC turnover, but the Lady Bucs were unable to get a shot to reach the goal.
April Murphy, a 6-6 sophomore, blocked a 3-point try from Ursula Hill out of bounds with 7.5 seconds left. Off the inbounds play, Murphy swatted away a 15-foot jumper from Edricka Thomas out of bounds with 1.6 on the clock.
After a TJC timeout, Yoshica Spears rejected Blinn's inbounds pass from underneath the goal out of play with still a half-second to play. The game wasn't over until Spears forced a turnover on Blinn's Tiss Rocquemore with a tie-up (TJC had the arrow).
Murphy's two huge defensive stops capped a seven-block performance to go with 10 points.
"She's 6-6, she's bigger than all of them," said TJC head coach Trenia Tillis-Jones. "She's got to use that as a factor. I told her, 'You do not worry about fouling out, you just play.' I think that's what she did at the end. We played through a lot of adversity."
The Apache Ladies overcame an eight-point halftime deficit and the game was tied eight times in the final 16 minutes. A Murphy free throw gave TJC a 77-76 lead with 35.5 seconds remaining.
Point guard Kelly Stewart scored 18 points to lead five TJC players in double figures. The Apache Ladies shot 11-for-20 from 3-point range and converted 55 percent of their shots overall. They shot 68 percent in the second half to overcome the 15 turnovers that occurred in the final 20 minutes.
TJC trailed the entire first half, and by as much as 14 at 24-10. They found their footing from behind the 3-point line and rallied to within a point on three occasions before going to the break behind 43-35.
Blinn scored the first 10 points of the game and shot 53 percent from the field in the first half.
Women
Tyler 77, No. 18 Blinn 76
TYLER - Chasity Shavers, 16; Kelly Stewart, 18; Brittany Roberson, 3; Monica Spearman, 11; Jessi Goodman, 0; Jasmine King, 2; Yoshica Spears, 14; Kim Laughlin, 0; Sonja Thompson, 3; April Murphy, 10. FG 29-53 FT 8-13.
TYLER - Chasity Shavers, 16; Kelly Stewart, 18; Brittany Roberson, 3; Monica Spearman, 11; Jessi Goodman, 0; Jasmine King, 2; Yoshica Spears, 14; Kim Laughlin, 0; Sonja Thompson, 3; April Murphy, 10. FG 29-53 FT 8-13.
BLINN - Jessica Walker, 7; Tilmila Martin, 20; Edricka Thomas, 5; Jasmine Smith, 6; Ursula Hill, 7; Tiss Rocquemore, 8; Shamon Doss, 2; Alexis Green, 8; Alisha Williams, 13. FG 25-63 FT 22-29.
THREE-POINT GOALS - TJC (11-20): Shavers (3), Stewart (3), Spearman (3), Spears (2); BC (4-16): Walker, Martin (2), Hill.
HALFTIME SCORE - Blinn 43-35.
TURNOVERS - TJC: 28; BC: 20.
TURNOVERS - TJC: 28; BC: 20.
RECORDS - Tyler, 19-7 (9-5); Blinn, 23-4 (12-3).
NEXT UP - Tyler at Kilgore, 2 p.m. Saturday; Blinn at Angelina, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Men
Blinn 94, No. 8 Tyler 76
TYLER - Tyler Jefferson, 2; Reggie Nelson, 3; William Kossangue, 4; Alan Branch, 0; Randall Hampton, 1; Jamie Vanderbeken, 16; Malcolm Thomas, 9; Chris Williams, 0; Joseph Fulce, 30; Jimmy Butler, 11. FG 30-71 FT 12-16.
TYLER - Tyler Jefferson, 2; Reggie Nelson, 3; William Kossangue, 4; Alan Branch, 0; Randall Hampton, 1; Jamie Vanderbeken, 16; Malcolm Thomas, 9; Chris Williams, 0; Joseph Fulce, 30; Jimmy Butler, 11. FG 30-71 FT 12-16.
BLINN - Tyquan Stroman, 12; Jamal Edwards, 12; P.J. Taylor, 0; Michael Johnson, 16; Javonte Clanton, 20; Dale Vanwright, 13; Salvador Patricio, 8; Leslie Jackson, 5; Obi Ikeakor, 0; Sean Coleman, 8. FG 28-56 FT 23-30.
THREE-POINT GOALS - TJC (4-27): Nelson, Vanderbeken, Thomas (2); BC (15-31): Stroman, Edwards (4), Johnson, Clanton (4), Vanwright (2), Patricio (2), Jackson.
HALFTIME SCORE - Blinn 41-36.
TURNOVERS - TJC: 11; BC: 9.
TURNOVERS - TJC: 11; BC: 9.
RECORDS - Tyler, 22-2 (16-2); Blinn, 16-10 (9-9).
NEXT UP - Tyler at Kilgore, 4 p.m. Saturday; Blinn at Lee, Saturday.
EST. ATT. - 800.
