Men's Basketball | 3/20/2017 4:08:00 PM

HUTCHINSON, Kansas – There was nothing unusual about No. 8 Jones County Junior College's convincing, 106-78 victory over Caldwell Tech (North Carolina) in the opening round of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.
It's what head coach Rahim Lockhart's Bobcats have done all season long.
"The guys played well," he said Monday afternoon in the Media Room of the Hutchinson Sports Arena. "It's kind of what we have been doing all year. We want to keep the tempo up by playing 10 guys, with five in and five out. I was really pleased with what the guys did.
"We felt like in order to get to Hutch, which was our goal, we had to play this season with the end in mind. We wanted to make sure we had enough legs and enough people with experience that when we got to this situation, it would not be a shock to them. We have been playing 10 or 11 guys all year because we knew to win this tournament, you had to have a deep team."
The Bobcats played all 15 players on the roster and everyone played solidly.
Sophomore forward Bruce Stevens (Bay Springs) led five players in double figures with 24 points. Freshman guard Enrique Milton (Jackson Provine) had his best game of the season with 16 points, while sophomore guard Rickey Holden (Laurel) added 15. Sophomore guard David Davis (Purvis) added 12 and sophomore forward Tristin Walley (Hattiesburg) had 10 points.
Milton was 12-of-12 from the free throw line and Stevens was 8-of-8.
"We have bought in to the 'All In' slogan where everyone does their part," Lockhart said. "In some games, one person may shine a little bit more and get a chance to score the ball. But everybody will have a chance to play, everybody will have a chance to rebound, everybody will have a chance to defend and everybody will have a chance to communicate and help us win.
"Tonight, Enrique had one of those kind of games where he was in the right spot at the right time. He did a great job of shooting his free throws."
The Bobcats improved to 29-1 on the year and won their 17^th straight game.
JCJC, the No. 9 seed in the tournament, will face No. 8 Northwest Florida at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in round two. The game will air on www.njcaatv.com.
Monday's game was never in doubt.
The Bobcats led 27-13 midway through the first half and then went on a 13-0 run and took its longest lead of the game at 40-13 with 7:29 left in the first half.
The Cobras trimmed the lead to 52-36 at halftime.
Marsellis Purvis (Brooklyn, New York) hit two free throws with 15:50 left to give Jones a 69-43 lead.
Jabrie Bullard hit a 3-pointer for the Cobras to cut the lead to 73-58 with 13:01 left, but that was as close as Caldwell Tech would get.
Jones extended the lead to 97-71 with 3:10 left when Xavier Howard (Pearl) scored off an assist by Leito Holloway (Charlotte, North Carolina).
Stevens led the Bobcats with eight rebounds, while Holden had five assists and Milton and Maurice Dunlap (Amanda Elzy) had four assists each.
"Bruce has been doing this past two years," Lockhart said. "He has been a real consistent force for us. That's why we feel he is the best bigman in the nation. I think he gave evidence of why he is that tonight."
JCJC outscored Caldwell 38-18 in the paint and 21-7 on fastbreak points.
The Bobcats were 30-of-61 from the floor (9-of-24 from 3-point range) for 49 percent. They were 37-of-46 off the free throw line for 80 percent.
The Cobras were only 28-of-84 from the field (15-of-47 3-point range) for 29 percent. They were 15-of-26 from the free throw line for 58 percent.
JCJC outrebounded Caldwell Tech, 50-43.
Lockhart looks forward to Tuesday's match vs. Northwest Florida, 27-3.
The Raiders were national runnerup in 2012 and 2013. JCJC won the title in 2014 and NWF won it in 2015.
"We've been playing tournament ball for the past two weeks," Lockhart said. "We don't concern ourselves with the other team, we just try to prepare ourselves as much as we can and get ready for the next team.
"The next one happens to be a really good team in Northwest Florida. We look forward to going into battle with them. They have some really talented players, but at the end of the day, we just try to concern ourselves with our strengths. Our strengths are our speed, being able to shoot the ball and push the ball up the floor. If we do what we are supposed to do, we will be satisfied with the outcome."
Lockhart added that the Bobcats were well prepared to play in the national tournament because of playing in the MACJC and Region 23.
"Region 23 is a great region and we have played against some great competition and some of the best coaches in the nation," he said. "We are prepared because of who we have played.
"We felt like when we finally won our region, hey, let's see what the rest of them have got."
Caldwell Tech, playing in its first year as a Division I team, was led by Bullard with 21 points. Jahmeel Watts added 15 and Chase Byrd had 12.
The Cobras end the season at 24-9.
 

NJCAA Division I Tournament

Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson Sports Arena
Monday's game
Jones County 106, Caldwell Tech (NC) 78
CALDWELL TECH (78) – Jabrie Bullard 21, Jahmeel Watts 15, Chase Byrd 12, Jahi Hughes 9, Shawn Robinson 9, M.J. Phifer 6, A.J. Sales 4, Bishup Walton 2, Brandon White 0, A.J. Horne 0, Shaquan Hampton 0, Dominic Gilmore 0.
JONES COUNTY (106) – Bruce Stevens 24, Enrique Milton 16, Rickey Holden 15, David Davis 12, Tristin Walley 10, Andre Tieu 6, Leito Holloway 5, Marsellis Purvis 5, Xavier Howard 4, Maurice Dunlap 3, Falou Joof 2, Quentin Pough 2, Omar Steele 2, Allen Rouse 0, Kelvin Collins 0.
Caldwell Tech  (24-9)           36 42 – 78
Jones County (29-1)            52 54 – 106


 

2017 NJCAA Division I Men's Tournament

Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson Sports Arena
 
Monday's results
Game 1, Connors State (OK) 96, Spartanburg Methodist (SC) 90
Game 2, Jones County 106, vs. Caldwell Tech (NC) 78
Game 3, Panola (TX) 77, Shelton State (AL) 65
Game 4, Northern Oklahoma-Enid 95, Southern Idaho 90
Game 5, St. Petersburg (FL) 70, Highland (IL) 53
Game 6, Gillette (WY) 83, Walters State (TN) 61
Tuesday's games
Game 7, Motlow State (TN) vs. Coffeyville (KS), 10 a.m.
Game 8, Indian Hills (IA) vs. Monroe College (NY), noon
Game 9, San Jacinto-Central (TX) vs. Connors State (OK), 2 p.m.
Game 10, Northwest Florida vs. Jones County, 4:30 p.m.
Game 11, South Plains (TX) vs. Panola (TX), 6:30 p.m.
Game 12, Vincennes (IN) vs. Northern Oklahoma-Enid, 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday's games
Game 13, Hutchinson (KS) vs. St. Petersburg (FL), noon
Game 14, Odessa (TX) vs. Gillette (WY), 2 p.m.
Game 15, Georgia Highlands vs. Game 7 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 16, Eastern Florida vs. Game 8 winner, 8 p.m.
Thursday's games
Game 17, Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, noon
Game 18, Game 13 winner  vs. Game 14 winner, 2 p.m.
Game 19, Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 20, Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner, 8 p.m.
Friday's games
Game 21, Game 17 winner vs. Game 18 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 22, Game 19 winner vs. Game 20 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday's games
Game 23, Game 21 loser vs. Game 22 loser, 5 p.m.
Game 24, Championship, Game 21 winner vs. Game 22 winner, 7 p.m.