March 19, 2007

For More Information, Contact: Keith Gentry (901) 333-4114/ (901) 619-1899 / Kimberly Kreider (901) 333-4023

SOUTHWEST PLAY LON MORRIS IN NJCAA OPENER
Release written by Keith Gentry

The Southwest men’s basketball team will open play in the 2007 NJCAA National Tournament at noon on Tuesday, March 20 in Hutchinson, Kansas against Lon Morris College (of Jacksonville, Texas.)

The Southwest/Lon Morris winner will take on the winner of the College of Southern Idaho/Vincennes University game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday while the losers of the two games will play at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The tournament championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Southwest is 13-14 all-time in the NJCAA Tournament action and is making its second consecutive appearance and 10th overall. It is the ninth appearance for Southwest coach Verties Sails, the 2007 TJCCAA Coach of the Year and a member of the NJCAA Hall of Fame.

Southwest, the TJCCAA Western Division and NJCAA Region VII tournament champion, enter the tournament with a 26-5 overall record and were ranked 16th in the final NJCAA regular season poll. Lon Morris, champions of Region XIV, enter the tournament at 19-13. It will be the first ever match-up between the two schools.

The Saluqis are led by TJCCAA Player of the Year and Region VII Tournament MVP Donald Boone, who is the team’s top scorer (16.8) and rebounder (6.6). Freshman A.J. Nance, an All-TJCCAA and All-Region Tournament team selection, is second in scoring at 11.9 points per game.

Other top contributors for Southwest are sophomores Greg Grimes (11.4 points, 6.0 rebounds), James Hooper (8.4 points, 6.4 assists), Nathan Walton (8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Chris Evans (5.5 points, 5.3 rebounds), and freshmen Deante Burgess (10.2 points, 5.5 rebonds), Emmanuel Cheers (8.1 points, 5.2 assists) and Antonio Young (6.7 points).

Play-by-play for the Southwest/Lon Morris game will be broadcast on the www.kyyk.com website. The Saluqis’ second round game will also be broadcast on either www.vinu.edu (if Vincennes) or athletics.csi.edu (if Southern Idaho).