The Clarendon College Bulldogs will make their first appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament next week after winning the Region V Championship Saturday in Abilene.
Clarendon is the number three seed in the national tournament, which gets underway next Monday in Hutchinson, Kan. The Bulldogs have a bye in the first round of the tournament and will play at 6 p.m. next Wednesday, March 18, the winner of the matchup between Murray State College out of Tishomingo, Okla., and Cowley College of Arkansas City, Kan.
Pearl River Community College from Poplarville, Miss., is ranked number one at the tournament, and Indian Hills Community College from Ottumwa, Iowa, is ranked number two.
CC’s national tournament game will be livestreamed at njcaachampstv.com.
The Bulldogs secured the NJCAA Region V title by defeating South Plains College of Levelland, 86-80.
Clarendon took the lead in the first half with a 43-34 score at the break and held on for victory despite being outscored by three points in the second half.
Scoring for Clarendon College were Jokrol Pal 24, Elijah Gonzales 17, Donchevell Nugent 12, Da’Vantre Vitor 8, Russell Harrison 7, Esahia Nyiwe 6, Mark-Anthony McReed 5, Emmanuel Gatkek 5, and Michael Underwood 2.
Clarendon opened the regional tournament with a match up against Temple College last Wednesday and defeated them soundly, 111-74, opening with a 61-40 lead at the half and continuing that domination in the second half. Scoring were Gonzales 24, Pal 16, Nyiwe 15, Nugent 13, Harrison 12, Vitor 8, Underwood 7, Dimitar Pandev 6, McReed 4, Kobi Johnson 4, and Gatkek 2.
Clarendon had previously secured the conference title for the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, and in the opening round of the regional tournament, all the WJCAC schools won, setting up conference rematches in the semi-finals and the eventual championship.
In the semi-final round, CC played New Mexico Junior College and posted a 76-67 victory.
The Bulldogs trailed by one point at the half, 41-42, but rallied after the break to defeat NMJC and secure Clarendon’s appearance in the championship round. Scoring for CC were Russell Harrison 17, Elijah Gonzales 14, Jokol Pal 11, Esahia Nyiwe 10, Emmanuel Gatkek 9, Mark-Anthony McReed 8, Donchevell Nugent 5, Michael Underwood 2.
CC has a 29-3 record going into next week’s national tournament.
[…] 37 percent from behind the arc. The All-Conference player propelled Clarendon to a 29-3 record and an NJCAA Region V Championship. Clarendon punched the ticket and was set to be the #3 seed in the NJCAA National […]