Blazers Coast Past Sandhills in NJCAA Quarterfinals

HERKIMER, N.Y. – Dallas College North Lake men's basketball team rolled to a 98-73 win over Sandhills Community College in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III quarterfinals Thursday.

The Blazers (27-4) advanced to Friday's 4 p.m. CT semifinals against Brookdale Community College (28-1).

Four starters scored in double figures for North Lake, who improved to 18-6 in nine national tournament appearances. Six Blazers reached double figures in the game.

North Lake built a 50-29 lead at halftime. The Blazers were 20 of 41 from the field for 49 percent, while the Flyers were 12 of 32 for 37.5 percent. North Lake, which never trailed, was 4 of 14 from the three-point line, while Sandhills was 4 of 13.

The Flyers (24-10) committed 16 turnovers in the opening half, leading to 17 points for the Blazers. North Lake turned the ball over just four times in the first half. The Blazers outscored the Flyers, 32-12, in the paint in the first half.

Daylen Webb gave the Blazers a 10-point lead with 12:30 to go in the first half when he scored on an assist from Autavius Hobbs, whose steal led to the basket. Sandhills' Damien Robinson converted a three-point play 2:21 later as the Flyers cut it to seven. But Ring Deng's layup at the 8:44 mark triggered an 8-0 run that put the Blazers up by 15. Webb, who had nine points in the first half, scored with 1:32 remaining in the half to push the lead to 22. Chad Kinch hit a 3-pointer for Sandhills before Jakob Zenon's layup at the 1:04 mark sent North Lake into the break up by 21.

Anden Holmes' jumper 2:36 into the second half doubled the Blazers' lead to 62-31. Ayden Gittens scored at the 14:36 mark as the Flyers trimmed the gap to 66-44 before Jermey Irwin scored on back-to-back possessions – the second after his own steal – to bump the Blazers ahead, 70-44. Bryson Smith scored with 12:02 on the clock to stretch the lead to 30. Holmes' 3 with 8:31 remaining gave North Lake an 84-50 lead. Sandhills used a 13-3 run over the next 2:52 to close within 23. But Irwin scored on the Blazers' next trip down the floor, and Elijah Moraros grabbed an offensive rebound, and sank two free throws with 4:49 to go to make it 90-63, and North Lake ran away with it.

Zenon had 17 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Holmes had 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting, and had a block. Randy Woolf finished with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting, seven assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal. Smith had 10 points and two steals. Webb had 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting, four rebounds and two steals. Irwin scored 10 points, grabbed five boards, had three assists and three steals.

Anthony Solomon and Deng each scored eight points, and Hobbs had seven points, four assists and two steals.

Jamori McDougald led Sandhills with 22 points, going 5 of 12 from three-point range. Robinson had 14 points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block, shooting 4 of 7 from the floor.

Zenon eclipsed 1,000 points in his two-year Blazers career. He buried a 3-pointer with 17:57 to play in the second half that pushed him over the milestone mark. He now has 1,005 points entering Friday's semifinals.

The Blazers shot 51.4 percent, going 36 of 70. The Flyers shot 40 percent, going 26 of 65. North Lake was 17-for-23 from the free throw line. Sandhills was 11-for-20. The Blazers hit nine of 24 threes. The Flyers were 10 of 28 from beyond the 3-point arc.

North Lake scored 32 points off 24 Sandhills turnovers, while its counterpart had 13 points off 14. The Blazers outscored the Flyers, 16-2, in transition.

Follow Friday's semifinal game on the NJCAA Network or live stats.