Another Top Seed Advances at Hutch, No Upsets Yet
Hutchinson, KS – #8 Seed Odessa College (TX) and #9 Shelton State CC (AL) squared off the the second game of the tournament to reserve a spot in the 2022 NJCAA National Quarterfinals. The winner would meet #1 Salt Lake CC, an 86-83 victor over #16 Moberly Area CC in the preceding game.
The game would only see 3 ties and had three lead flips. as Shelton went on a slow climb to an 11 point cushion at the 6:00 mark in the first period. The second tie of the half, was just before the end of the horn ended the first half. Shelton never trailed heading into the locker room to conclude the first twenty minutes when Odessa’s Garfield Turner hit a jumper to even things up at 42.
The second half belonged to the Wranglers for the most part. After the break, there were three ties, but Shelton State never regained the lead. Odessa took their largest lead of the game at 8 points when Dontrell Hewlett’s lay-in made it 79-71. The Bucs could never shrink the deficit below five the rest of the way as another top seed finds their way to the W with Odessa on the high side of an 89-82 final.
The Wranglers up their record to 28-6 and will take on #1 Salt Lake CC Thursday, March 17 at Noon.
Top of the scoresheet for the Wranglers was Daniss Jenkins with 18 and team high 4 helpers. Turner followed up with 15 off the bench, collecting a team high 8 boards. Anthony Marshall found his way to 14 points, while Hewlett and Darrell Armstrong, Jr. helped out with 11 each.
Shelton State’s top gun was Jaykwon Walton who finished with 16. Thaddeus Williams tickled the twin for 15, finding his way to a game high 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Andres Burney went for 14 on 6-9 FGs and 2-2 FTs, before fouling out.
Odessa College won the battle in the paint, points off turnovers, 2nd chance points, fast break points and points from the bench to help them seal the deal.
Shelton’s South District Championship season ends in the round of sixteen, dropping their record to 30-5.
