Blazers Blow by Jaguars for 10th Win

IRVING, Texas – Dallas College North Lake's No. 3-ranked men's basketball team beat Jacksonville College, 90-62, Tuesday night in the penultimate game of the calendar year. 

The Blazers, a National Junior College Athletic Association Division III team which improved to 10-4 with their fourth straight win, have beaten five NJCAA Division I opponents this season. 

Bryson Smith scored 26 points, including 16 in the first half. He was 10 of 16 from the floor, and 4-for-6 from the free throw line. Jakob Zenon had 18 points, knocking down three second half triples. 

The Blazers buried seven of their nine three-point goals in the second half. 

With just under 8:00 left in the first half, Blazers forward Ring Deng threaded a dime to Smith for a bucket to give North Lake a 25-18 lead. Randy Woolf scored in transition roughly two-and-a-half minutes later to extend the lead to 33-22. Autavius Hobbs, who finished with 13 points and a season-high seven assists, coasted to the rack for a bucket that put the Blazers ahead, 41-27. 

North Lake led 47-29 at halftime. 

A little over three minutes into the second half, Jacksonville's Anthony Riggans converted a three-point play before Jaguars teammate Khadir Muhammad canned a triple to make it a 13-point game. But Anden Holmes canned a three, and Zenon hit one of his three triples in the second half to extend the lead back to 17. Smith canned a 3-pointer at the 11:40 mark to make it 65-45. Smith knocked down another 2:14 later on a kick-back from Hobbs to stretch the lead to 74-45, and the rout was on. 

Deng finished with nine points, five steals, five rebounds, three assists and a block. Woolf had six of his seven points in the first half, and had a career-high nine assists. Daylen Webb had five rebounds, four points and two assists in his best game of the season. 

Riggans had 18 points, nine boards and three blocks, and Massimo Moretti, Donovan Holcombe and Muhammad each had eight points for the Jaguars, who fell to 4-8 overall. Jacksonville shot 31.9 percent from the floor and just 17.4 percent from three-point range.

The Blazers connected on 34 of 64 field goals for 53 percent. They were 9 of 20 from downtown for 45 percent.

North Lake hosts Redlands Community College 5 p.m. Friday in the final game before the three-week holiday break.