KC men, women beat Lon Morris to finish season
But there's more basketball; tourney is here this weekend
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

It wasn't a great year for either Kilgore College basketball program - but they've finished on a winning note.

Both Kilgore College teams ended their 2007-08 seasons with victories on Tuesday night here at Masters Gymnasium, a sweep of Lon Morris College. Neither KC team will make this weekend's Region XVI Conference tournaments, both held at Masters, beginning on Friday night.

The KC Runnin' Rangers, coached by Scott Schumacher, beat LMC, 87-71. Ridge McKeither, a freshman from Danville, Va., who was one of a few bright spots for KC this year, led the Rangers with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Emmanuel Bidias A Moute of Cameroon scored 14 points. Brandon Roberson, also a sophomore (from Rosharon), had 12. Omar Thomas, a freshman from Detroit, Mich., dropped in 10.

LMC was led by Mirza Ahmetbasic with 25 points - 18 of them came in threepointers.

The young Kilgore College lineup - nine of the 13 players are freshmen - led LMC 39-30 at the half, but then really took care of business, holding LMC to just six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. LMC never really made things any closer.

The Rangers finished the year with a 15- 15 overall record, 7-15 in Region XIV.

• KC 89, LMC 64 (ladies): It was a nice final game as a Lady Ranger for sophomore Nakazi Glover of Houston, who led all scorers with 24 points. The win for coach Roy Thomas' KC ladies halted a five-game losing streak, and allowed them to end the season, his second as head coach, on a good note. And like Schumacher's men's team, the Lady Rangers are young - just three sophomores among the 12 players.

KC finished the year 11-15 overall, and 5- 13 in the conference.

Denetra Kellum was impressive, too. The freshman from Kirbyville scored 22 points and had seven rebounds.

Orange native Janae Henderson, also a freshman, scored eight points.

LMC was led by Breanna Ellison's 14 points.

• Conference tournaments: The top six women's teams make their conference tournament; the top eight teams make the men's.

The women's tournament begins Friday night at 6 p.m. - the No. 4 seed Angelina faces No. 5 Panola. At 8 p.m., the No. 3 women's seed, Tyler, takes on No. 6 Jacksonville.

Saturday is men's tournament play all day. The 3-versus-6 game - that's San Jacinto against Navarro - starts things at 1 p.m. The No. 2 team, Paris, faces the No. 7 team, Blinn, at 3 p.m. The fourth seed, Angelina, faces the fifth seed, Trinity Valley, at 6 p.m., and top-seeded Tyler faces No. 8 Panola at 8 p.m.

Men and women play Sunday's semifinals - the women's games are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; the men's games are at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The first game on Sunday has top-seeded Trinity Valley taking on the highest-remaining seed, and No. 2 Blinn does the same at 3.

In men's play on Sunday at 6 p.m., the winner of the 3-6 game meets the winner of the 2-7 game, and at 8, the winner of the 4-5 game faces the winner of the 1-8 game.

The finals are Monday. The women's finals are played at 5:30, the men at 8. The winners move on to the NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. Lon Morris won last year's men's tournament, beating Navarro; Tyler Junior College edged Blinn, 63-61, to win the women's division.

Tickets are being sold by session - a session consists of two games - for $8 for adults, $5 for students, or you may purchase a tournament pass for $30 that permits you to attend every tournament game.

See the tournament website online at kilgore.edu/xivtournament.asp.