Posted: Mar 04, 2011
Men's Season Ends With Loss to Blinn
By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer
There wasn't much of a buzz at the start of the Region XIV Basketball Tournament opener, but the Apaches created one with a fantastic finish to the first half early Thursday afternoon.
Tyler Junior College took momentum into the locker room and then quickly lost it after the break, as Blinn roared back to eliminate the Apaches, 84-78, at UT Tyler's Herrington Patriot Center.
Guards Bakari Turner and Dylan Talley combined for 44 points overall, and the ninth-seeded Buccaneers (19-12) erupted for 49 points in the second half to set up a quarterfinals bout with No. 1 seed San Jacinto (27-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The eighth-seeded Apaches (19-11) struggled shooting the ball in the second half after converting 48.4 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
TJC outscored Blinn 7-0 in the final two minutes of the first half to lead 43-35 at the break. Malcolm Moore scored in the post, Jabbar Reid nailed his third 3-pointer and John Tyler graduate Jaron Johnson scored on a nifty drive for the eight-point lead.
It looked promising for the Apaches, but the complexion of the game changed in the first two minutes of the second half.
"I thought the way we finished the first half we were off and running," TJC head coach Mike Marquis said. "We came out (in the second half) and got a couple easy looks, didn't make 'em, turned it over for their layups and dunks and then we missed a lot of free throws. That combination of things just killed us.
"We still played hard at the end and actually played pretty good defense and forced them into some tough shots. We gave ourselves some chances to get back but we rushed a couple of possessions on offense."
Blinn swiped the momentum with a 14-1 run to go up 50-46 at the 15:03 mark, but the Apaches came back to get a pair of one-point leads.
Marquis Toliver then hit a jumper for Blinn and two free throws in the one-and-one to give his team the lead for good. Toliver drew a fourth foul on 6-10 center Kader Tapsoba, who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and one block but did not play much after the 11:47 mark.
"When it got to 7-2 team fouls against us, we were really in trouble," Marquis said. "I don't know what changed at halftime but it was clear that it did. We just weren't able to make enough plays."
The Bucs used a 15-3 run and some key 3-pointers for their first double-digit lead. Johnson, who had 12 points, made a 3-pointer to bring TJC within five with 57 seconds left - but the Apaches could get no closer.
Moore, a 6-7 sophomore forward from Iowa City, Iowa, had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Apaches. Sophomore point guard Mitch Marquis contributed nine points and seven assists.
Reid, a freshman shooting guard, scored 12 points in the loss, all in the first half.
The Apaches' interior size allowed TJC to outrebound Blinn, 43-29, but the Apaches shot just 38 percent from the field.
The game was super tight in the opening half with 10 lead changes. Blinn led by as much as four, while TJC was up by three before the scorching finish.
Link to Original Article: http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20110304/SPORTS06/110309877
Staff Writer
There wasn't much of a buzz at the start of the Region XIV Basketball Tournament opener, but the Apaches created one with a fantastic finish to the first half early Thursday afternoon.
Tyler Junior College took momentum into the locker room and then quickly lost it after the break, as Blinn roared back to eliminate the Apaches, 84-78, at UT Tyler's Herrington Patriot Center.
Guards Bakari Turner and Dylan Talley combined for 44 points overall, and the ninth-seeded Buccaneers (19-12) erupted for 49 points in the second half to set up a quarterfinals bout with No. 1 seed San Jacinto (27-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The eighth-seeded Apaches (19-11) struggled shooting the ball in the second half after converting 48.4 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
TJC outscored Blinn 7-0 in the final two minutes of the first half to lead 43-35 at the break. Malcolm Moore scored in the post, Jabbar Reid nailed his third 3-pointer and John Tyler graduate Jaron Johnson scored on a nifty drive for the eight-point lead.
It looked promising for the Apaches, but the complexion of the game changed in the first two minutes of the second half.
"I thought the way we finished the first half we were off and running," TJC head coach Mike Marquis said. "We came out (in the second half) and got a couple easy looks, didn't make 'em, turned it over for their layups and dunks and then we missed a lot of free throws. That combination of things just killed us.
"We still played hard at the end and actually played pretty good defense and forced them into some tough shots. We gave ourselves some chances to get back but we rushed a couple of possessions on offense."
Blinn swiped the momentum with a 14-1 run to go up 50-46 at the 15:03 mark, but the Apaches came back to get a pair of one-point leads.
Marquis Toliver then hit a jumper for Blinn and two free throws in the one-and-one to give his team the lead for good. Toliver drew a fourth foul on 6-10 center Kader Tapsoba, who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and one block but did not play much after the 11:47 mark.
"When it got to 7-2 team fouls against us, we were really in trouble," Marquis said. "I don't know what changed at halftime but it was clear that it did. We just weren't able to make enough plays."
The Bucs used a 15-3 run and some key 3-pointers for their first double-digit lead. Johnson, who had 12 points, made a 3-pointer to bring TJC within five with 57 seconds left - but the Apaches could get no closer.
Moore, a 6-7 sophomore forward from Iowa City, Iowa, had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Apaches. Sophomore point guard Mitch Marquis contributed nine points and seven assists.
Reid, a freshman shooting guard, scored 12 points in the loss, all in the first half.
The Apaches' interior size allowed TJC to outrebound Blinn, 43-29, but the Apaches shot just 38 percent from the field.
The game was super tight in the opening half with 10 lead changes. Blinn led by as much as four, while TJC was up by three before the scorching finish.
Link to Original Article: http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20110304/SPORTS06/110309877