CLINT JONES/FREELANCE TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE’S dynamic guard Victoria Kemokia (5) leads the No. 2 seed Apache Ladies into the Region XIV Basketball Tournament this week in Jacksonville. Here, the sophomore from Houston scores against Kilgore College last week in Tyler. The Apache Ladies (26-3) play No. 7 seed Jacksonville College (16-13) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Jacksonville ISD Gymnasium (old Lon Morris College gym).

A little bit of March Madness hits East Texas this week as the annual Region XIV Basketball Tournament gets underway.

For the first time in eight years, the tournament will not be in Tyler. Instead, it will be in Jacksonville.

The tournament was first set for Tyler Junior College’s Wagstaff Gymnasium in 2015, followed by Shands Gymnasium on the Angelina College campus in Lufkin in 2016. The conference athletic directors had elected to go back to campus sites to save money.

The home court advantage did not sit well with one school president, so UT Tyler was asked to bid and the Rose City university did so.

However, with the success of the Patriot women’s basketball program, the Herrington Patriot Center may host an NCAA regional. Patriot coach Kevin Baker suggested some games be played at his school and some at TJC.

Once again, there were objections about TJC having home court advantage.

So now, the tournament will be played at Jacksonville ISD Gymnasium (811 Farnsworth, 75766) on the old Lon Morris College campus.

Jacksonville College will serve as tournament hosts and the Jaguars’ Lynn Nabi, the college’s academic dean and athletic director, is excited to host.

Nabi added that the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce is the primary sponsor and the city of Jacksonville will provide sponsorship.

Lon Morris College has hosted the tournament in the past and did a wonderful job, and the good people of Jacksonville and Cherokee County will do so again.

Both TJC coaches Mike Marquis and Trenia Tillis-Jones said they are looking forward to enjoying the tournament experience instead of being the host school.

Marquis said instead of “worrying about locker room assignments” and “game balls,” he can just “concentrate on his team.”

Tillis-Jones added, “A lot of people in our conference have not wanted us to play at home when it comes to the regional tournament, and they don’t understand we sometimes have a harder time of shooting the ball at home than we do on the road. It might play in (our favor) playing away from Tyler Junior College.”

With the silliness of some of the things said over and done, it’s time for basketball.

The presidents and athletic directors should work together to promote the fine product that junior colleges in Texas (and Louisiana) offer. Not only does it provide quality education for students, but the atmosphere that athletic programs bring is essential to student life.

It is much like the minor league baseball system in that fans have the opportunity to see an athlete that may go on to excel on the big stage, ala Jimmy Butler with Chicago Bulls and Dom Dwyer with Sporting KC. Both Butler and Dwyer got their starts on the basketball court and soccer field, respectively, at Tyler JC.

So promote your product and work together.

Educators can look out for their school as well as the league.

 

Tournament Time

For the first time since the NJCAA began awarding extra bids to the national tournaments in 2013, Region XIV is guaranteed just one bid for both the men and women this year.

The men received two automatic bids in 2013 with the women the same in 2014. The women actually got three in 2014 with Blinn receiving an at-large bid to go along with Trinity Valley and Tyler’s automatic bids.

So the level of play may be even higher as the teams seek the regional championship, although it is likely the region will receive at-large bids.

Twelve men’s teams made the regional tournament, along with eight women’s squads.

The men’s event begins Tuesday with four first round games.

The Apaches (20-9) are the No. 7 seed and will play No. 10 seed Lee College (14-16) at 6 p.m.

Other first round games include:

No. 8 Lamar State-Port Arthur (19-11) vs. No. 9 Jacksonville (18-11), 1 p.m.;

No. 5 Blinn (22-8) vs. No. 12 Paris (15-14), 3 p.m.;

No. 6 Kilgore (20-9) vs. No. 11 Coastal Bend (11-16), 8 p.m.

Four teams (first and second place in each zone) receive byes and will play in the quarterfinals on Thursday — No. 1 San Jacinto (26-4), No. 2 Trinity Valley (27-3), No. 3 Navarro (21-8) and No. 4 Angelina (20-9).

The winner of the TJC vs. Lee game will play Trinity Valley at 6 p.m. Thursday.

The women get started on Wednesday with quarterfinal matchups. The No. 2 seed Apache Ladies (26-3) play No. 7 seed Jacksonville (16-13) at 6 p.m.

Other quarterfinal games include:

No. 1 Trinity Valley (26-3) vs. No. 8 Panola (14-14), 1 p.m.;

No. 4 San Jacinto (22-8) vs. No. 5 Angelina (20-10), 3 p.m.

No. 8 Blinn (19-10) vs. No. 6 Bossier Parish (17-12), 8 p.m.

The winner of the Tyler-Jacksonville game will play the winner of the Blinn vs. Bossier Parish game in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Friday.

The championship games are 5:30 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men) Saturday.

A tournament pass is $25. Day passes are $6 (adults), students with ID are $3 and children under 18 are $3.

 

Baseball players honored

TJC’s Zane Otten and Jonathan Groff were honored as NJCAA National Players of the Week, the NJCAA national office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, announced.

Otten, a sophomore center fielder from Corsicana, was named the NJCAA Division III Player of the Week, while Groff, a freshman left-handed pitcher from Castroville, was named DIII Pitcher of the Week.

Otten earned his award by batting .400 for the week, with four runs scored, two doubles, five RBIs and three stolen bases.

Groff fired a one-hit shutout and struck out seven in an 8-0 Apache win over Vernon to earn his honor.

The Apaches, 11-1 and ranked No. 1 in DIII, hope to get back on the diamond today, traveling to Marshall to meet East Texas Baptist University’s JV. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.

TJC returns to Mike Carter Field on March 13 to meet Arkansas Baptist.