Posted: Apr 23, 2007
Region XIV Stars Shine Brightest
By SHANE STARK, Staff Writer, Tyler Morning Telegraph
KILGORE - The only thing between Trinity Valley's Jonathan Clark and a slam dunk was the basket, but the 6-0 guard opted for a high-percentage layup.
Not surprisingly, he was booed.
The second NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Classic was a collection of fan favorites. There were too many dunks to count. More shots from way downtown than one can remember. And more missed dunks than are generally made during an average game.
NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Basketball Game
At Masters Gymnasium, Kilgore
Region XIV All-Stars 123, National All-Stars103
NATIONAL - Nemanja Calasan, Midland, 17; Jordan Brooks, Midland, 21; Steve Harley, South Plains, 11; Mantas Griskenas, Three Rivers (Mo.), 9; Robert Jarvis, Seminole (Okla.), 13; Anthony Brown, Carl Albert (Okla.), 9; Skip Thomas, Temple, 4; Donald Boone, Southwest Tennessee, 7; Tyler Kepkay, Eastern Utah, 12.
REGION XIV - Marcus Thornton, Kilgore, 19; Tyrone Cole-Scott, Tyler Junior College, 6; Nate Garner, Tyler Junior College, 6; Booker Woodfox, San Jacinto, 11; Kendall Dykes, Navarro, 18; Warrell Spann, Navarro, 13; Tyson Johnson, Blinn, 15; Jonathan Clark, Trinity Valley, 10; Lamont Mack, Angelina, 11; Ramone Clemente, Paris, 14.
THREE-POINT GOALS - RXIV: Clark (2), Cole-Scott (2), Thornton (3), Mack, Woodfox (4), Clement; NAS: Kepkay (2), Griskenas, Jarvis, Brown, Brooks (2).
HALFTIME SCORE - Region XIV 61, National 37.
Original Link to Article: http://tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070422/SPORTS/704220302/-1/SPORTS
KILGORE - The only thing between Trinity Valley's Jonathan Clark and a slam dunk was the basket, but the 6-0 guard opted for a high-percentage layup.
Not surprisingly, he was booed.
The second NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Classic was a collection of fan favorites. There were too many dunks to count. More shots from way downtown than one can remember. And more missed dunks than are generally made during an average game.
The Region XIV All-Stars put on the biggest show, running away from the National All-Stars 123-103 before a highly-entertained crowd Saturday night at Masters Gymnasium.
Upon being booed, Clark ran back on defense with a big grin on his face. Perhaps it was in respect to how fun all-star games are meant to be. To how fun this one was.
The hometown fans were treated in the biggest way, with Kilgore College's Marcus Thornton scoring 19 points en route to being named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Tyler Junior College's Nate Garner and Tyrone Cole-Scott each finished with six points.
Other Region XIV All-Stars were San Jacinto's Booker Woodfox (11 points), Navarro's Kendall Dykes (18 points), Navarro's Warrell Spann (13 points), Blinn's Tyson Johnson (15 points), Clark (10 points), Angelina's Lamont Mack (11 points) and Paris' Ramone Clemente (14 points).
The National team consisted of Midland's Nemanja Calasan (17 points) and Jordan Brooks (21 points), South Plains' Steve Harley (11 points), Three Rivers' (Mo.) Mantas Griskenas (nine points), Seminole's (Okla.) Robert Jarvis (13 points), Carl Albert's (Okla.) Anthony Brown (nine points), Temple's Skip Thomas (four points), Southwest Tennessee's Donald Boone (seven points) and Eastern Utah's Tyler Kepkay (12 points).
Chipola's (Fla.) Jamarcus Ellis didn't play.
On paper, the National team appeared to be the favorite coming. It had five players named first-team All-America this season - Harley, Kepkay, Boone, Ellis and Griskenas. The only first-team All-American for the Region XIV squad was Thornton.
But Region XIV began to control things during the first half, taking a commanding 61-37 lead into the break. It was the second time Region XIV held a double-digit lead. The first saw the National team rally from 23-9 with an 11-0 run to pull within three midway through.
From that point, though, Region XIV displayed that it clearly had better athletes and shot-makers. During the next four minutes, Region XIV scored 16 points to pull back away, 39-23.
But in the lopsided loss, the National All-Stars seemed to have just as much fun as the victors.
In the Divisions II and III all-star game, played earlier Saturday, the Blue team beat the Maroon team, 83-79.
Players were selected by executive officers of the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association, in conjunction with junior college talent evaluators and sports writers.
Upon being booed, Clark ran back on defense with a big grin on his face. Perhaps it was in respect to how fun all-star games are meant to be. To how fun this one was.
The hometown fans were treated in the biggest way, with Kilgore College's Marcus Thornton scoring 19 points en route to being named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Tyler Junior College's Nate Garner and Tyrone Cole-Scott each finished with six points.
Other Region XIV All-Stars were San Jacinto's Booker Woodfox (11 points), Navarro's Kendall Dykes (18 points), Navarro's Warrell Spann (13 points), Blinn's Tyson Johnson (15 points), Clark (10 points), Angelina's Lamont Mack (11 points) and Paris' Ramone Clemente (14 points).
The National team consisted of Midland's Nemanja Calasan (17 points) and Jordan Brooks (21 points), South Plains' Steve Harley (11 points), Three Rivers' (Mo.) Mantas Griskenas (nine points), Seminole's (Okla.) Robert Jarvis (13 points), Carl Albert's (Okla.) Anthony Brown (nine points), Temple's Skip Thomas (four points), Southwest Tennessee's Donald Boone (seven points) and Eastern Utah's Tyler Kepkay (12 points).
Chipola's (Fla.) Jamarcus Ellis didn't play.
On paper, the National team appeared to be the favorite coming. It had five players named first-team All-America this season - Harley, Kepkay, Boone, Ellis and Griskenas. The only first-team All-American for the Region XIV squad was Thornton.
But Region XIV began to control things during the first half, taking a commanding 61-37 lead into the break. It was the second time Region XIV held a double-digit lead. The first saw the National team rally from 23-9 with an 11-0 run to pull within three midway through.
From that point, though, Region XIV displayed that it clearly had better athletes and shot-makers. During the next four minutes, Region XIV scored 16 points to pull back away, 39-23.
But in the lopsided loss, the National All-Stars seemed to have just as much fun as the victors.
In the Divisions II and III all-star game, played earlier Saturday, the Blue team beat the Maroon team, 83-79.
Players were selected by executive officers of the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association, in conjunction with junior college talent evaluators and sports writers.
NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Basketball Game
At Masters Gymnasium, Kilgore
Region XIV All-Stars 123, National All-Stars103
NATIONAL - Nemanja Calasan, Midland, 17; Jordan Brooks, Midland, 21; Steve Harley, South Plains, 11; Mantas Griskenas, Three Rivers (Mo.), 9; Robert Jarvis, Seminole (Okla.), 13; Anthony Brown, Carl Albert (Okla.), 9; Skip Thomas, Temple, 4; Donald Boone, Southwest Tennessee, 7; Tyler Kepkay, Eastern Utah, 12.
REGION XIV - Marcus Thornton, Kilgore, 19; Tyrone Cole-Scott, Tyler Junior College, 6; Nate Garner, Tyler Junior College, 6; Booker Woodfox, San Jacinto, 11; Kendall Dykes, Navarro, 18; Warrell Spann, Navarro, 13; Tyson Johnson, Blinn, 15; Jonathan Clark, Trinity Valley, 10; Lamont Mack, Angelina, 11; Ramone Clemente, Paris, 14.
THREE-POINT GOALS - RXIV: Clark (2), Cole-Scott (2), Thornton (3), Mack, Woodfox (4), Clement; NAS: Kepkay (2), Griskenas, Jarvis, Brown, Brooks (2).
HALFTIME SCORE - Region XIV 61, National 37.
Shane Stark covers sports. He can be reached at 903.596.6293. e-mail: sports@tylerpaper.com
Original Link to Article: http://tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070422/SPORTS/704220302/-1/SPORTS