March 13, 2006

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SOUTHWEST MEN DEFEAT COLUMBIA STATE TO WIN REGION VII TOURNAMENT
 
Lester Hudson scored 22 points to lead the Southwest men’s basketball team to a 92-73 victory over Columbia State in the championship game of the TJCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Basketball Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Verties Sails Gymnasium. The win improved the Saluqis’ record to 23-6 on the season.

Hudson was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament as he made 9 of his 16 shots from the field and led the team with three steals. Also named to the all-tournament team were freshman forward Greg Grimes and sophomore forward Moraye Ivy.

Sophomore forward Darius Simmons recorded the first double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was sophomore guard Anthony Pigram with 10 points. Freshman forward Donald Boone was the top rebounder with 11.

The Saluqis’ defense was again outstanding, forcing Columbia State to commit 19 turnovers. In addition, Southwest limited Columbia State to only 37 percent from the field including 4 of 24 from three-point range.

Southwest reached the championship game by defeating Roane State 97-78 in the quarterfinals on Thursday and Volunteer State 101-78 on Saturday. In the Roane State game, freshman center Chris Evans had his best game of the season with career-highs of 17 points and 16 rebounds. Hudson recorded double-doubles in both games with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Roane State and 25 points and 10 boards in the Volunteer State game.