JUCO Playoffs: Thomas Sparks Win

KILGORE, Tex. -- Second seeded Lon Morris College opened up a 12 point half-time lead and scored the first six points of the second half on the way to an 88-68 victory over host Kilgore College on Saturday afternoon at the Region XIV quarterfinals.

Terrance Thomas, Lon Morris' outstanding 6-7 combo forward headed to Baylor, got the Bobcats off to a fast start by scoring 15 of his 21 points in the opening 20 minutes. Luke McKay, LMC's sophomore combo guard headed to Oregon State, picked up where Thomas left off in the first by scoring 13 of his 20 points in the second half.

McKay made a concerted effort to get to the free throw line (where he converted 12 of 14 attempts) in the second half, allowing the Bobcats to enjoy a double digit cushion the entire second half.

Kilgore cut the deficit to 11 points three different times in the second half but could never pare the lead to single digits.

A pair of freshman -- guard Chris Gray and strong athletic forward Kevin White led the Ranger attack with 21 and 17 points, respectively. White also hauled down 11 rebounds.

Lon Morris shot 54 percent from the field for the game, including 68 percent in the second half. The Bobcats went to the line 42 times in the contest and knocked down 28 attempts.

Lon Morris advanced to Sunday's semifinals against Lee College.