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Dragons get first win in Hutchinon
By Larry Cathey
The Paris News
Published March 20, 2008
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Eric Tramiel believed Paris Junior College would defeat Vincennes University from the time the buzzer sounded after his team's opening round loss in the NJCAA Tournament.
The Dragons lived up to his word and beat the Trailblazers 74-67 Wednesday afternoon in the consolation bracket. PJC (29-6) plays at 11 a.m. Friday against Walters State Community College, which defeated Eastern Wyoming on Thursday.
Although Tramiel might have believed his team was capable of beating Vincennes, he probably didn't know who would fill the role of the main offensive cog.
Nobody did.
Courtney Waters, who averaged 4.4 points this season, scored 17 on 5 of 7 shooting from the field and made 3 of 4 3-point attempts. Water scored nine during a 4:11 stretch late in the game to help PJC rebound from a five-point deficit and take a 67-58 lead with 44.1 seconds left.
“I just felt like yesterday we didn't play our best game, so today we needed to make a statement that we are good and we do belong here,” Waters said.
The Dragons made that statement early, but allowed Vincennes to make two big runs — one late in the first half and another late in the second half — to get back in the game.
After PJC's DeCarlos Riley made a layup off a give-and-go with Marcus Carson with 5:06 left in the first half to give the Dragons a 29-17 lead, Vincennes reeled off 12 straight points to tie the game.
PJC weathered that storm and was able to reopen an eight-point lead after an 8-0 run early in the second half on 3's by Waters and Carson, sandwiched around two free throws by Raymond Sims.
The Dragons held a seven-point advantage after Mike Smith laid in a finger roll with 10 minutes left, but the Trailblazers were far from throwing in the towel. They went on a 13-0 run that began with a 3 from the wing by Dodie Dunson with 9:22 left and ended on a Dunson offensive rebound and putback with 5:49 left.
That gave Vincennes a 55-49 lead — its first of the game — and it appeared PJC might be headed home. But, the Dragons still had a dominating stretch of basketball up their sleeves.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Tramiel said. “Whoever can be the most solid at the end of the game will win.”
PJC went on its own 13-0 run with three points from Sims, five from Waters, three from Carson, and two from Ronnie Morgan to take a 62-55 lead with 2:03 left.
“We refuse to lose,” Tramiel said. “When you play the game of basketball, you lose sometimes and you win sometimes. We're so competitive, we don't like losing.”
Tramiel scored the game's first four points, and finished with 15 on 7 of 10 shooting. He also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
PJC committed 21 turnovers, but were able to offset that by shooting 51 percent from the field — a far cry from the 37.5 percent it shot in Tuesday's first round loss to Southeastern Illinois College.
The Dragons' defense also did its part and kept Vincennes guards Devon Dumes, Dodie Dunson and Rashad Reed from imposing too much damage from the outside.
Dumes had 17 points, four assists and five steals, but missed 12 of his 17 attempts. He was 3 for 12 on 3-pointers. Dunson scored 10 on 4 of 13 shooting, and Reed had nine points and four steals.
“We were fortunate in some instances when he did get a good look,” PJC coach Ross Hodge said of Dumes, who scored a tournament-high 23 in the first round. “Their three guards are as good as any trio in the country.”
The Trailblazers, who took 19 more shots from the field than PJC, shot 38.8 percent and missed 21 of 25 3-point attempts.
“We are a 3-point shooting team,” Vincennes coach Everick Sullivan said. “And, that's a very tough defensive team.”
The Dragons also have their share of quality backcourt players as evidenced by Wednesday's performances. Sims joined Waters in double-figures with 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
James Livingston, who has struggled lately to get in the flow of the game, made seven crucial free throws in the final 34.3 seconds to seal the victory. Those were his only points of the game. Livingston also came up with a big steal with less than eight seconds left when a 3-pointer would have cut the Dragons' lead to two. But, he stole the ball and was fouled before he sank two free throws to help send PJC into the next consolation round.
John Freeman had 11 points and eight rebounds for Vincennes, which got nine points from Patrick Posey, and 10 rebounds from Devon Archie.
PJC 74, VINCENNES UNIVERSITY 67
PJC 33 41 — 74
VU 33 34 — 67
PJC (29-6) — Courtney Waters 17, Eric Tramiel 15, Raymond Sims 13, Ronnie Morgan 8, James Livingston 7, DeCarlos Riley 5, Marcus Carson 4, Charles Funches 3, Mike Smith 2. Free throws: 17-28. Field goals: 25-49 (51 percent). Threes: 7-14 (Waters 3, Sims, Funches, Carson). Rebounds: 38 (Tramiel 12). Assists: 13 (Sims 7). Steals: 2 (Sims, Smith). Turnovers: 21. Fouls: 19.
Vincennes (28-6) — Devon Dumes 17, John Freeman 11, Dodie Dunson 10, Rashad Reed 9, Patrick Posey 9, Zvonko Buljan 8, Devon Archie 3. Free throws: 11-16. Field goals: 26-67 (38.8 percent). Threes: 4-25 (Dumes 3, Dunson). Rebounds: 39 (Archie 10). Assists: 7 (Dumes 4). Steals: 12 (Dumes 5). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 25.
Waters an unlikely hero
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Paris Junior College beats the “any given player on any given night” drum so much it's a wonder it doesn't have to dip into its recruiting budget to purchase new drum heads on a weekly basis.
For approximately the 617th consecutive game, the Dragons received a clutch performance during a crucial time from a different player that normally is not asked to shoulder the burden and deliver.
In Wednesday afternoon's 74-67 victory against Vincennes University to keep PJC alive in the consolation bracket of the NJCAA Tournament, it was sophomore Courtney Waters who took care of business during business hours.
Waters entered the game averaging 4.4 points during the regular season. In the Dragons' first round loss Tuesday to Southeastern Illinois College, he didn't score. During the recent Region 14 Tournament in Kilgore, he scored eight total points in three games.
So, to recap, he scored a combined eight points in his last four games. He didn't exactly project as the guy who was going to help carry the Dragons into the next consolation round.
But, he was that guy.
Waters scored 17, including nine in the last 4:55, on 5 of 7 shooting from the field. He also made 3 of 4 3-point attempts — none bigger than the one he made from the wing with 4:13 left to tie the game at 55. That 3-pointer happened just moments after he made a layup that spurred a 13-0 run.
“I feel like it was a big shot,” Waters said of the game-tying 3-pointer. “But, I knew we still needed to get stops and that wasn't going to win the game right there.”
Waters said he doesn't have any confidence issues from typically being the sixth, seventh or eighth scoring option on the team and he's able to just focus on each possession as it comes.
“I'm not really the type of player to force a shot,” he said. “If I'm open, I'm going to shoot it.”
He was open Wednesday more than Vincennes should have allowed.
PJC coach Ross Hodge, for one, was pleased to see Waters take his turn at the podium after his go-to performance.
“He's a sophomore who has been a part of this program for two years,” Hodge said. “He has represented this program in a positive manner.”
But, Hodge was more pleased to see his team get back to what made it successful all season long — by spreading it around and getting contributions from everybody.
“A lot of times when you get in tournament situations, teams are prepared for each other and they try to take away your strengths,” Hodge said. “He just stepped up at the right time.
“That's the way we've been all year long, man. A guy steps up on the night when you really need him. It was Courtney's turn tonight, and I couldn't be happier for him.”
The Dragons won't get a chance to beat their drum again until Friday at 11 a.m. when they play Walters State Community College.
And, that has PJC's drum head purchaser breathing a sigh of relief.
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