The Paris News

What’s viewed as a blowout by some is seen as a valuable opportunity for Paris Junior College Dragon basketball coach Tom Schuberth.

The first-year head coach saw his Dragon squad go on a 19-0 run at the midpoint of the first half and ultimately claim a dominating 126-67 victory over the Bacone College junior varsity Warriors on Wednesday at the Hunt Center.

PJC’s point total represented the highest the team has amassed since at least the 2005-06 season.

Schuberth substituted players freely throughout the contest and hasn’t taken a lead for granted in the five games PJC (5-0) has played this season — a stretch of games in which the Dragons have won by an average of 40 points.

He said he has used the season’s opening games to get a feel for the team and so he can decide which combinations of players work best in various game situations.

“All of them have different strengths and weaknesses, but I think each guy can provide a strength when they come in off the bench so we’re trying to utilize that as much as possible,” Schuberth said. “Unfortunately, in closer games we’re probably not going to be able to play all 12 guys.

“I’m glad we’re able to see all these guys play and we’re getting a look at them to see which guys are going to be the guys stepping up at the right time in critical situations.”

And all the Dragon players made the most of their minutes on the court.

Twelve players scored at least two points in the game and eight players had double-digit point totals. Tonye Smith, who was the catalyst of the 19-0 first-half run, was PJC’s leading scorer with 24 points. Bryce Cartwright had 17 points, while Calvin Brown and Justynn Hammond had 15 points apiece.

“The thing I love about this team is they could care less about who gets the credit and they’re very unselfish,” Schuberth said. “I think most of these guys would rather get an assist than a basket and that’s uncharacteristic for a lot of teams. It’s a pleasure to see that.”

The extra passes created several open looks early in the game and aided the Dragons in their early scoring run. They held a 60-32 advantage at halftime and began the second half with a 12-2 scoring run, which included baskets by Desmond King, Cartwright, Hammond and Latay Darden. The game’s final basket was a slam dunk by Terrence Bowman with about 20 seconds remaining.

The Bacone JV squad was led by La’Charleston Tumblin’s 18 points.

PJC now looks ahead to its second road trip of the season this weekend, with games in Kansas against Coffeyville Community College and Neosho County Community College on Friday and Saturday. That’s followed by a road game against Murray State College on Monday before the Dragons return home Nov. 21 for their first Region XIV conference match of the season against Bossier Parish Community College.

Coffeyville is ranked as the No. 25 team in the country in the NJCAA basketball poll.

“We’ve got a test Friday, Saturday and Monday to see what we’re really made of,” Schuberth said. “You’d love to win them all, but if we come out of there 2-1 that would be a great testament to this team.

“I mean, we’re not good enough and coached well enough right now to win a game just by showing up. We’ve got to be clicking on all cylinders to beat good people.”

Bacone JV 32 35 — 67

PJC 60 66 — 126

Bacone College JV: La’Charleston Tumblin 18, J.J. Grant 12, Ryan Self 8, Bryan Parks 8, Jordan Manuel 3, Thomas Mickelson 3, Curtis Lee 2, Austin Epps 2, Kyle Weaver 2. Threes 7 (Grant 4, Self 2, Manuel 1). Fouls 17.

PJC (5-0): Tonye Smith 24, Bryce Cartwright 17, Calvin Brown 15, Justynn Hammond 15, Desmond King 14, Latay Darden 11, Terrence Bowman 11, Generra Varmall 10, Jeremy Holmes 3, Demarkus Wilson 2, Derrick Echols 2, Sedric McBounds 2. Threes 13 (Smith 4, Brown 3, Cartwright 2, Holmes 1, Varmall 1, Bowman 1, Hammond 1). Fouls 8.

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