Danville, IL - Game 21 was the first of two semifinal games on Friday night, March 24, of the 2017 Division
II Men's Basketball National Tournament. The game featured Southwestern Community College,
the No. 1 seed of the tournament, and Richard Bland College, the five seed.
Richard Bland jumped out to a 5-0 lead as Southwestern struggled to connect in the early going.
It took the Spartans a little under three minutes to score their first basket, which came on a
long outlet to Jordan Johnson who finished with a layup.
Richard Bland held the lead until the 15:07 mark when Jamil Maddred scored and Southwestern
took a 10-9 lead. The score remained the same at the first media timeout.
Deon Joyner ended a two-minute scoring drought for both teams when he drilled a three from
the top of the key to give the Statesmen a 12-10 edge.
A 7-0 run was sparked by Jaquan Wooten as Richard Bland fed their big man in the post. Gevon
Arrington added a three-point play and the Statesmen were out in from to their largest lead,
21-15.
Southwestern went on a 7-0 themselves, which propelled them into the lead with 2:20 to go in
the half. At the break, the Spartans led 28-26.
HALFTIME SCORE:
Southwestern - 28
Richard Bland - 26
TEAM LEADERS:
Southwestern:
#3 Brodric Thomas - 6'5, Fr. - 6pts, 3 rebs
#10 Jordan Johnson - 6', So. - 6pts, 2rebs
#5 Jamil Maddred - 6'5, So. - 5pts, 3rebs
#1 Alijah Thomas - 5'10, Fr. - 4pts, 4rebs
Richard Bland:
#1 Gevon Arrington - 6'3, So. - 10pts, 2/4 3PT, 2stls
#21 Jaquan Wooten - 6'9, So. - 6pts, 3/4 FG
#5 Stanley Taylor - 6'7, Fr. - 3pts, 3rebs
The second half started as the teams scored just eight points combined over the first four
minutes. The slow scoring pace would continue throughout most of the half.
Missed layups, missed shots and missed free throws led to both teams struggling to separate
themselves from one another. Brodric Thomas was the key for the Spartans. He provided
Southwestern with 12 of 16 points of offense that they had during the first 10 minutes.
Robert Smith and Arrington gave Richard Bland the offense they needed to keep pace. Through
the eight-minute mark, Southwestern had a narrow two-point lead 44-42.
Richard Bland went stale. Over the next five minutes the Statesmen would only score three
points on a Ricky Hicks three-pointer. Southwestern was able score 14 points over that same
stretch, getting to the line five different times and making baskets.
With 3:35 to go, Southwestern had opened a 15-point lead, 60-45.
Point by point, Richard Bland tried to inch back in the game. Before a final layup from Arrington
the Statesmen had scored their last ten points from the free throw line.
Timeouts and free throws from both teams extended the game but Southwestern made
enough free throws to seal an eight-point victory, 70-62.
Southwestern Community College plays the winner of Game 22: South Suburban College vs.
Louisburg College on Saturday at 7:30 pm in the championship game. Richard Bland College
plays the loser of Game 22 in the third place game at 5:30 pm Saturday.
FINAL SCORE:
Southwestern - 70
Richard Bland - 62
TEAM LEADERS:
Southwestern:
#3 Brodric Thomas - 6'5, Fr. - 19 pts, 6/10 FG, 4/4 FT, 8rebs
#10 Jordan Johnson - 6', So. - 15 pts, 7/11 FT, 4asts
#5 Jamil Maddred - 6'5, So. - 10 pts, 5rebs
#4 Lavon Hightower - 6'5, So. - 11 pts, 4rebs