Southwest Basketball Teams To Compete For Region Championship, National Tournament Berth
For more information, contact:
Keith Gentry
901-333-4114
mgentry@southwest.tn.edu
The Southwest Tennessee Community College men's and women's basketball teams will travel to Morristown, Tennessee March 6-10 to compete in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA)/National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region VII Tournament. The tournament champions will advance to the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament March 20-25 in Hutchinson, Kansas (men) and Lubbock, Texas (women).
The Southwest men (18-9 overall and 11-7 in the TCCAA) enter the tournament as the number 3 seed and will play number 6 seed Chattanooga State (16-12, 9-9) in a quarterfinal game at 8 p.m. on March 8. The two teams split during the regular season with each winning at home, Chattanooga State 63-57 on November 12 and Southwest 88-75 on February 25 in the regular season finale.
The Saluqis, under the direction of fourth-year Head Coach Jerry Nichols, are the defending tournament champions and are led by sophomore point guard Brandon Key, who averages 12.3 points per game and ranks fourth in the NJCAA with 7.3 assists per game. Also starting for the Southwest men are sophomore guards Julian Daughtry (12.6 points per game) and Payton Wilson (10.8 points per game) and sophomore forwards Greg Murphy (6.9 points and a team-high 5.1 rebounds per game) and Toriano Stokes (5.0 points and a team-high 1.4 blocked shots per game).
The Southwest women (14-13 overall and 10-8 in the TCCAA) are a number 5 seed and will play at 4 p.m. on March 7 against number 4 seed Roane State (16-14, 11-7). The Lady Saluqis lost both games to Roane State during the regular season, 75-54 on November 18 in Harriman and 62-61 on January 27 at home.
The Lady Saluqis are coached by Andrea Martre, now in her 21st year as the head coach. They are led by sophomore point guard Chayla Johnson, who averages 9.1 points and ranks among the conference leaders in both assists (2nd with 4.3 per game) and steals (5th with 2.4 per game). The leading scorer is freshman guard Atitiana "Titi" Vincent, who averages 11.7 points per game and also ranks third in the conference with 2.6 steals per game. Also starting for the Southwest women are sophomore guard Miah Kimbrough (6.2 points per game), sophomore forward Victoria Middlebrooks (11.1 points and a team-high 1.5 blocked shots per game) and freshman forward Martajah Tyler (5.2 points per game).
Tournament information, including links to schedule/brackets and live streaming of every game, can be found on the 2017 TCCAA Basketball Tournament (opens new window) website.
TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Tournament Schedule
The tournament is being held at Walters State Community College, Morristown Tennessee.
Women
- Monday, March 6, First Round
- 2 p.m., #8 seed Chattanooga State vs. #9 seed Volunteer State
- 4 p.m., #7 seed Cleveland State vs. #10 seed Columbia State
- Tuesday, March 7, Quarterfinals
- 2 p.m., #1 seed Walters State vs. Chattanooga State/Volunteer State
- 4 p.m., #4 seed Roane State vs. #5 seed Southwest Tennessee
- 6 p.m., #2 seed Motlow State vs. Cleveland State/Columbia State
- 8 p.m., #3 seed Dyersburg State vs. #6 seed Jackson State
- Thursday, March 9, Semifinals
- 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
- Friday, March 10, Championship
- 2 p.m.
Men
- Monday, March 6, First Round
- 6 p.m., #8 seed Jackson State vs. #9 seed Volunteer State
- 8 p.m., #7 seed Cleveland State vs. #10 seed Dyersburg State
- Wednesday, March 8, Quarterfinals
- 2 p.m., #1 seed Motlow State vs. Jackson State/Volunteer State winner
- 4 p.m., #4 seed Columbia State vs. #5 seed Roane State
- 6 p.m., #2 seed Walters State vs. Cleveland State/Dyersburg State winner
- 8 p.m., #3 seed Southwest Tennessee vs. #6 seed Chattanooga State
- Thursday, March 9, Semifinals
- 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Friday, March 10, Championship
- 4 p.m.