National tourney: Chipola to semis

The NJCAA Division 1 Tourney continued today in Hutchinson, KS with two first round games and two semifinals and one elimination game.

The day started with a great game in which the South Georgia Tech Jets knocked off Navarro College 91-89 in overtime. South Georgia Tech was led by Jae Crowder, (FR) 6-foot-4, with 20 points and Tyson Randolph, (SO) 6-foot-5, with 19 points and Antonio Bell, (FR) 5-foot-9, with 17 points. Navarro, making its first trip to Hutch, was led in scoring by freshman guard Matt Pressey, son of former NBA player Paul Pressey, with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Deandre Brown added 15 points in the defeat.

The Jets will now face Midland College which beat Allegany College of Cumberland, MD 67-50 in the last opening round game here at Hutch. Greg Hill led the way for the Chaps with 24 points, David Terrell had 16 points, Kavon Lytch 7 points and 11 rebounds while Hofstra commitment Brad Kelleher added 6 points. Steven Shepp, (SO) 6-foot-1 point guard from Allegany College, led the way in defeat with 13 points and 4 assists. Allegany College will now play Navarro College in the consolation bracket.

Southwest Tennessee State stayed alive today by eliminating the Sea Devils of Cape Fear Community College 87-61. Southwest Tennessee State was led in scoring by Jeremy Rodgers with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Myron Strong and Jeremy Williams, both UTEP commitments, added 14 points apiece.

Cape Fear was led in scoring by Charles Baker, (SO) 6-foot-4 with 11 points and leading scorer Cephas Oglesby was hampered by a ankle injury and only played in 7 minutes of the game and didn't score.

The Chipola College Indians was the first team to book a date in the semifinals when the knocked off a very pesky Runnin Lopes team from Lamar Community College 82-66. Lamar was trailing by just one at 33-32 at halftime to Chipola. Casey Mitchell led the Indians with 19 points, Jeremy Jacobs 12 points, Malcolm Armstead 12 points and Gary Flowers added 11 points. The Indians improved to (33-1) on the season and a date in the semifinals with Salt Lake Community College at 6PM on Friday.

The last game of the night had Salt Lake Community College pounding North Dakota State College of Science 91-55. The Bruins jumped out to a 26-8 lead and never looked back. Freshman DJ Wright led the charge for the Bruins with 30 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of action. Nate Bendall added 17 points and ]Ricky Shoff added 14 points. The Wildcats fell into the consolation bracket were led in scoring by Danville, VA native Ridge McKeither with 14 points. The Bruins advance to the semifinals Hutch for the second straight season and now will face the Chipola College Indians on Friday night.