South Plains College Set For NJCAA National Tournament

The South Plains College men's basketball team will spend spring break in Hutchinson, Kan., after qualifying for the NJCAA National Tournament. The Texans qualified by winning the Region V Tournament last weekend in Belton. This will be SPC's first appearance at the National Tournament since 2003.

South Plains College (26-5) will take on Georgia Perimeter College (23-10) in the first round of the NJCAA Tournament. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, at 11 a.m., at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The double-elimination tournament begins March 18 and runs through March 22. Other teams in the 16-team field include Eastern Arizona College (27-5), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (26-7), Vincennes University (28-4), Three Rivers Community College (27-6), Seward County Community College (29-5), Walters State Community College (31-1), Chipola College (32-1), Eastern Wyoming College (23-11), Indian Hills Community College (26-8), Shelton State Community College (24-10), Salt Lake Community College (29-3), Paris Junior College (28-5), Itawamba Community College (29-2) and Southeastern Illinois College (27-6).

South Plains opened the season with 16-straight wins and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation. The Texans fell out of the national poll after losing four of six games during a tough February stretch, but they enter the national tournament with four-straight wins including three impressive performances at the Region V Tournament.

The Texans, who were the No. 4 seed from the West, defeated North No. 1 seed Weatherford College in the quarterfinals of the regional tournament. They then knocked off defending National Champion Midland College in the semifinals and Howard College in the finals.

South Plains is led by sophomore guard Nick Okorie, who is averaging 17.1 points a game and scored 36 in the regional semifinal win over Midland. Freshman guard David Tairu is averaging 14.8 points a game, while sophomore guard Jonathan Hall is averaging 14.4 points.