March 12, 2007

For More Information, Contact: Keith Gentry (901) 333-4114/ (901) 619-1899 / Kimberly Kreider (901) 333-4023

SOUTHWEST MEN WIN TJCCAA/NJCAA REGION VII TITLE
Release written by Keith Gentry

Tournament MVP Donald Boone scored 24 points to lead 16th-ranked Southwest to a 98-80 win over Cleveland State in the championship game of the TJCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Gallatin, Tennessee. A.J. Nance, also an all-tournament selection, added 17 points for the Saluqis, now 26-5 on the season. Other double figure scorers for Southwest were James Hooper with 14 and Greg Grimes with 12. Hooper also led the Saluqis with seven rebounds and five assists.

Boone was outstanding throughout the tournament, scoring a total of 64 points in the three games for an average of 21.3 per game. In addition to Boone, Nance (18.0), Grimes (12.0), and Hooper (11.7) also averaged at least ten points for the three games. Grimes was the Saluqis’ top rebounder with a 7.7 average and Hooper led in assists also with an average of 7.7.

After entering the tournament as the number one seed by winning the regular season Western Division title, Southwest defeated Walters State 93-76 in the quarterfinals and Columbia State 93-86 in the semifinals to reach the championship game.

The region title was the tenth for Southwest and the ninth for Coach Verties Sails including fourth in the past seven years. The Saluqis finished 11th in last year’s NJCAA national tournament and their highest finish ever was in 1998 when they were tournament runner-up.


Southwest will represent the TJCCAA and Region VII in the NJCAA National Tournament on March 20-24 in Hutchinson, Kansas.