Barbour, Allen Not Enough In Loss

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- It didn't take long for Schoolcraft College to resume its winning ways at the NJCAA Tournament.

Less than 24 hours after suffering its first loss of the season in a heartbreaker against Dixie State College, the Ocelots bounced back with an unexpectedly easy 111-86 victory over defending national champion Wabash Valley College on Saturday night at Hutch.

Schoolcraft ended the season at 35-1 and took home third place honors at the 2002 NJCAA Tournament.

"We both lost tough games last night," said Schoolcraft Head Coach Carlos Briggs. "But we came back tonight and showed a lot of character."

Jevon Clark and Mike Williams shared high scoring honors for the Ocelots, pumping in 21 points apiece for the winners.

Schoolcraft took control of the game early against Wabash Valley, opening up a 48-39 half-time lead and extending the advantage to 18 points in the second half before the Warriors rallied.

A three point basket by Antwain Barbour drew Wabash Valley to within 76-70, but a quick 8-0 burst by the Ocelots, capped by a Williams free throw, made it 84-70 with 9:05 to play. Barbour has signed with Kentucky. He is one of the top 20 players in the JUCO class.

From that point on, the walls caved in on the Warriors, who fell behind 100-80 minutes later on a basket by forward Richard Dorsey.

A big factor in Schoolcraft's offensive outburst was the three point shot. Thanks primarily to sophomores Jevon Clark and Rulon Harris, the Ocelots converted eight of 16 three pointers in the second half, and a robust 12 of 26 for the game (46 percent). Harris has made a commitment to Detroit and will attend there next Fall.

With the perimeter game clicking on all cylinders and the inside game producing consistent points, Schoolcraft would not be denied on Saturday night.

In addition to Williams outstanding 21 point, 11 rebound performance, the Ocelots also got 18 points and seven rebounds from Yaku Moton-Spruill and nine points from beefy 6-7 sophomore Delvar Barrett.

Tony Allen paced the Wabash attack with 26 points, and the Warriors also got big performances from Herman Davis (17 points), C.J. Hill (16 points) and Barbour (16 points, four assists).

Allen is being recruited by Arizona State, Auburn, Clemson, South Carolina, Minnesota, Kansas State, Creighton, and Illinois Chicago. Click above on his name for complete list of schools. Allen is considered one of the better players left uncommitted in the JUCO ranks.

However, the bottom line was that Wabash Valley had a difficult time in stopping Schoolcraft's potent offensive attack. The Ocelots shot an eye-popping 65 percent from the field on the way to their 111 point outburst.

"Obviously, the tough thing tonight was responding after last night's game," said Wabash Valley Head Coach Mark Nelson. "I was pleased with our effort, but they had some mismatches inside that they took advantage of on us."

The Warriors were playing without a trio of players who were suspended during the Region IV Tournament a few weeks back, plus freshman swingman Quinnel Brown.

Brown kicked in a glass window in frustration on Friday night following Wabash Valley's heartbreaking 71-70 loss to Coffeyville, and was also unavailable for Saturday night's tilt against Schoolcraft.

Wabash Valley, which finished the season at 32-6, took home fourth place honors at the 2002 NJCAA Tournament with the loss on Saturday.