Sports

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.

The Broncos played solid basketball over Farwell last Friday night at Randall High, earning a 69-48 win for the Area Championship.

Clarendon played with determination early on, and it paid off big for them. They led by 14 at the break and continued to ride their momentum until the buzzer.

The Broncos shot well from the free throw line hitting 12 out of 16, and four Broncos finished in double figures. Freshmen Sylvester Ballard put in 17, Lamarcus Peniger and Jamal Butler each helped with 14, and Jmaury Butler finished with 12. Jordan Herndon had six, Collin Butler added four, and Donovan Thompson had two.

Earlier in the week, the Broncos defeated Fritch in the Bi-District round. After playing the first quarter fairly even, the Broncos turned up the heat and gained a 14-point lead going into the final half. Fritch was not finished, though, as they took advantage of bonus shots from the Broncos’ committing too many fouls. Several players were in foul trouble as the final buzzer neared, but they were able to hang onto the lead and get the win.

Peniger led the way with 22, Jamal Butler added 19, and Thompson helped with 14. Ballard finished with eight, C. Butler had seven, and Herndon had four.

The Broncos played Gruver in the Regional Quarter-Final game Tuesday night, but Clarendon was defeated, 46-64.

The Lady Broncos got on the defense bus and rode it all the way to the championship in the Miami Tournament last weekend. The ladies breezed through Booker, West Texas, and Miami to get the trophy.

The Lady Broncos eased by Booker in the first round, 60-30. Ashlyn Crawford picked the ball from Booker several times and turned them into baskets to finish with 17 points. Crawford also was perfect from the free throw line making all seven shots. Jade Benson joined Crawford in double figures with 13 points.

It was never a contest for the Lady Broncos as they played fundamental basketball while gaining a solid lead early on and never looking back.

Kira Weatherton put in nine, Mattee Johnson worked the arc and pumped in two three-pointers in the third quarter finishing with eight, and Graci Kidd hit a big three and finished with five.

Mckayla Brown put in four, and Madi Smith and Kaitlyn Davis added two each.
The second round the ladies went up against West Texas and soundly defeated them, 60-30. Clarendon began the game big and finished it out the same. WT never had a chance to get anything going in the game.

Crawford and Benson had a good game with 12 and 11 respectively. Weatherton and Smith each put in eight and Johnson added seven. Brown and Jayde Gribble added four apiece, Kaylin Hicks and Finley Cunningham put in two each, and Kailee Osburn and Madi Gay helped with one point each.

They took on Miami in the Championship game and breezed to a 63-31 win for first led by Benson who pumped in 22 points and went eight for nine from the bonus line.
Defense was the name of the game for the entire tournament and the Lady Broncos took advantage of turn overs. Offensively, the ladies missed only two free throws for 87 percent and hit six three-pointers. Miami struggled to get anything going against the aggressive Lady Broncos.

Benson 22, Johnson 10, Weatherton 9, Smith and Cunningham six, Crawford four, Osburn three, Brown two, and Smith and Gribble one each.

The Clarendon Broncos have had an up and down year on the field ending the year at 6-5.

However, they were able to finish third in the District race, which put them in a playoff game with Ralls last Friday night in Tulia. Despite playing hard, the Broncos fell short 19-32.

“Friday did not turn out the way we wanted it to,” head coach Clint Conkin said. “This season was a learning experience for our players, and I am so proud of our guys. They got valuable playing time that will help them in the future.”

The Broncos’ total yardage was down from their average on the season only racking up 127 rushing yards and 82 passing yards. Lamarcus Penigar was eight of 17 passing for the 82 yards and one touchdown to Collin Butler. The Jackrabbits had a stop for everything the Broncos gave them as they were able to control the scoring in the game.

Jmaury Davis was responsible for two of the Broncos’ touchdowns and carried the ball nine times for 53 yards. Sylvester Ballard carried the balls 11 times for only three yards, and Penigar had seven carries for 34 yards. Jordan Evans carried twice for two yards, and Antwan Bassett had 19 yards on two carries. Rhett Caison carried the ball twice as well and finished with four yards.

Jamal Butler caught three passes from Penigar for 27 yards, and Nate Lee had one catch for three yards. Jmaury Butler grabbed a pass for 12 yards, and Collin Butler finished the game with 40 yards on three catches and one TD.

Seniors Collin Butler, Jamal Butler, Harm Drenth, Henry Dushay, Nate Lee, and Zane Sneathen will be missed by their teammates next year.

The Broncos will begin their 2019-2020 basketball season at home Friday night, November 22, against Hereford with JV to play at 5:30 p.m. and varsity to follow at 7:00.