BASKETBALL: Chaparral Basketball Qualifies for the Region 5 Basketball Tournament

By Forrest Allen
Midland College Athletics Director

Midland College Basketball
NJCAA Region 5 Basketball Tournament
Wednesday, March 8 @ 5:00 p.m.
Frenship HS Tiger Pit
Wolforth, Texas

MIDLAND, TEXAS - After more than a decade of post-season obscurity the Midland College Chaparrals punched their ticket to the Region 5 Basketball Tournament after defeating nationally ranked South Plains College, 72-66, at the Chaparral Center on Thursday night.  The win, combined with a loss by Howard College at Odessa College, moved the Chaps into the #3 position in the final WJCAC standings and a post-season berth to end a 12-year playoff drought.    

Midland College enters the tournament with an impressive 24-6 record, including going 16-0 to start the season.  The 16 wins included the first two games of conference play.  However the Chaps followed the 16 wins with losses in four straight WJCAC games.  At the end of the fall semester and into the start of conference play, the Chaparrals were forced to play through a gauntlet of injuries and illness.  MC finished the conference schedule 10-6, tying them with SPC.  Midland College secured the third seed by virtue of their two head-to-head wins over the Texans this season. 

The Region 5 Basketball Tournament brings together the top four teams from the WJCAC and the top four teams from the NTJCAC for three days of intense basketball action.  The W3 Chaparrals are joined by WJCAC members W1 seed Odessa College (28-2), W2 Clarendon College (25-5) and W4 South Plains College (22-8).  Northern Conference representatives include N1 Ranger College (24-6), N2 McLennan Community College (24-6), N3 Weatherford College (22-7) and N4 Hill College (17-12).  The tournament field is stacked with ranked teams including:  #3 Odessa College followed by #18 Clarendon College, #21 Ranger College, #22 South Plains and #25 McLennan CC.  The Chaps were ranked as high as 11^th nationally this season. 

Midland College will play their first round game on Wednesday, March 8^th @ 5:00 p.m. (CST) versus the McLennan Community College Highlanders.  McLennan won six of their final eight conference games to be in a strong position coming into the tournament.  Midland College went 7-2 over their final nine WJCAC games but could be the fresher of the two having only played one game in the 13 days prior to the tournament. 

NJCAA Region 5 Basketball Tournament Bracket (Men's):
https://njcaaregion5.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/releases/20230305u13urr

The Chaparrals and Highlanders have four common opponents this season:  Blinn College, Dallas College – North Lake, Weatherford College and Ranger College.  Versus Blinn College MC went 1-0 while McLennan defeated the Pirates on two occasions.  Both teams defeated NJCAA Division III powerhouse Dallas College – North Lake (formerly North Lake College) during the fall semester of 2022.  Midland College recorded one win each versus Weatherford and Ranger colleges.  McLennan Community College went 1-1 each versus fellow NTJCAC members Weatherford and Ranger.  

The Highlanders employ a balanced scoring attack with six players averaging between 14 and 8 points per game.  McLennan is led by CJ Hall's 14.1 ppg, Nick Shogbonyo's 11.7 ppg and Jared Clawson's 9.2 points per contest.  Highlander Omarion Smith leads the team in rebounds with 8.6 per contest.  For the Chaparrals sophomore Doug Young sets the pace on offense with 21.7 ppg.  Keonte Jones scores at a 17.2 points per game clip along with Trent Johnson's 9.9 ppg this season.  MC's Jones, Johnson and Brison Waller lead the team on the boards with 6.1, 5.3 and 5.3 caroms per game respectively. 

Watch The Region 5 Tournament Live:
https://tsbnsports.com/2023-region-5-mens-basketball-tournament/

 
GO CHAPS!

Doug Young	Keonte Jones	Brison Waller	Trent Johnson