KC's Thornton MVP of classic

A GOOD SENDOFF - Kilgore College sophomore guard Marcus Thornton (left, in action, and above, with KC coach Scott Schumacher) scored 19 points and was named MVP in the Texas vs. Nationals contest at Saturday's NJCAA all-star festivities here. Louisiana native Marcus Thornton left his mark on many here as a student-athlete basketball player for Kilgore College.

And on Saturday, his play in the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association Classic left them standing - as in a standing ovation.

Thornton, a Baton Rouge native on his way home to finish his college career at Louisiana State University, had one more fantastic performance left in him for the Masters Gymnasium crowd - he scored 19 points and was named the most valuable player of the Texas all-stars versus Division I national all-stars, the second game of the night, a game the Texas all-stars won convincingly, 123-103.

Fittingly, Thornton's head coach at KC, Scott Schumacher, is the current president of the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association, and was the man to present the future LSU Tiger with the MVP plaque following the contest.

Photos by Lester Murray Thornton's performance, which he carried out in front of not just KC fans, but family as well, was the highlight of a nice evening of basketball featuring the very best junior college players from across the country.

Thornton's teammates - all members of the Texas-based Region XIV Conference, which Thornton and the Runnin' Rangers faced week-in and week-out in the regular season - as well as the nationals put on quite a show.

The Texas squad turned the actual game into a blowout midway through the first half, but the national all-stars were good sports, and by the middle of the second half, the contest had turned into a true allstar game: more of a street ball-type contest with all sorts of dunks and passes.

Thornton got in on the show himself, at one point missing a dunk and laughing at himself, but then executing a couple of dunks late in the second half that must have reminded Rangers fans of just how good the sophomore shooting guard had been in his career here.

He left the game with 5:35 remaining to a nice ovation, a final one from a Kilgoreheavy crowd.

Thornton was one of several first-team All-Americans in the game, but he was the only person to win the game's MVP. He had also been named MVP of the Region XIV Conference shortly after the season concluded.

Thornton and the Region XIV all-stars were coached by Lon Morris head coach Dale Dotson.

Navarro's Kendall Dykes was right behind Thornton with 18 points. Blinn's Tyson Johnson scored 15, and Paris' Ramon Clemente scored 14. Navarro's Warrell Span finished with 13.

Midland College's Jordan Brooks of the national all-stars led his team with 21 points. He made the crowd laugh late in the second half when he jokingly corrected the announcer on the pronunciation of his name - while standing at the free throw line.

All in all, the evening was a good showcase for JUCO basketball. It was the second consecutive year the classic was played here at Masters Gym.

In the first game, the Division II all-stars beat the Division III team, 83-79. Nick Morey of Richland College led the winning team with 18 points.