Published: March 12, 2008 01:54 pm            

Coyotes’ postseason cut short by Texans

BELTON — The Weatherford College Coyotes missed three of their last four shots and watched as the South Plains Community College Texans used free-throws to extend their lead and secure a 92-87 win at the Region V Regional Tournament at University of Mary-Hardin Baylor’s Mayborn Arena Thursday night.

“It’s disappointing, but like I told them, everybody that leaves this gym is going to be disappointed except for one team,” said Weatherford College head coach Mark Osina. “We just came down and didn’t make the greatest decisions at times, missed a few free-throws, missed some shots we probably should have made, loose balls, a few officiating calls I didn’t agree with... We had a chance right there in the end to win it.”

The Coyotes, who entered the game as the No. 1 seed from the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference, trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half, but got back into the game in the second half thanks to the hot hand of Edvinas Ruzgas and the gritty play of Roderick Flemings.

Ruzgas knocked down nine 3-pointers in the game, five of which came in the second half. Flemings finished the first half with just six points after being blanketed by Texans defenders, but found some room to score in the second half, finishing with 13 points in the period.

Ruzgas put his team in the lead with 13:12 to play in the game, but South Plains quickly tied the contest 61-61 just 10 seconds later. From that point, the Coyotes and Texans exchanged the lead nine times over the remaining minutes before four free-throws in the final 30 seconds of the game by Nick Okorie put the Texans ahead for good.

“They played hard and battled all the way to the end,” Osina said of his team. “It just came down to the end and [South Plains] had the better breaks and made the shots when they had to. Like I said, we just made a few mistakes at the end.”

Ruzgas finished the game as the leading scorer for the Coyotes with 30 points and he also grabbed 11 rebounds, while Flemings finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Both players were suited up for Weatherford College for the final time in their respective careers.

“It’s hard to replace good players like that,” Osina said of the duo. “Roderick Flemings and Edvinas Ruzgas were two of the best players in our conference and are probably going to be First-Team All-Region, so they’ll be hard to replace, but we’ll be looking.”

Five players finished in double figures for the Texans with Okorie leading the way with 25 points. David Tairu finished with 21, Jonathan Hall and Luciano de Sauza each finished with 13 and Carlos Dos Santos finished with 10 points in the win.

South Plains moves on to play Midland, who defeated Hill College, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.



South Plains Community College 92, Weatherford College 87

SOUTH PLAINS — Nick Okorie 25, David Tairu 21, Jonathan Hall 13, Luciano de Sauza 13, Carlos Dos Santos 10, Hugh Mingo 4, Landon Tatum 4, Philip Outly 1, Kendrick Johnson 1. Three-point goals: 5 (Okorie 3, Tairu, de Sauza). Free-throws: 15-26.

WEATHERFORD COLLEGE — Edvinas Ruzgas 30, Roderick Flemings 19, John Lane 7, Vitalis Pancerevas 7, Cortney Hill 6, Curtis Bowens 5, De’Angelo Robinson 4, Tyler Hull 4, Jordan Michelson 2. Three-point goals: 11 (Ruzgas 9, Lane, Pancerevas). Free-throws: 18-30.

HALFTIME — South Plains Community College 46, Weatherford College 41.

        

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