Delta kicks Co-Lin out of regionals

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Walter Howard’s 21 points led 4 Mississippi Delta players indouble figures and the Trojans upset No. 2-seeded Co-Lin 67-58Tuesday night in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament. Co-Lin (20-8) shota cold 37 percent from the field.

Delta (14-13) advances to tonight’s semifinals and facesNortheast at 6 p.m. Bossier Parish (La.) plays state championItawamba at 8.

In yesterday’s other men’s games. Bossier Parish eliminatedMeridian 78-72, Itawamba beat Gulf Coast 80-73 and Northeast beatPearl River 78-61.

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The Co-Lin women play Holmes at noon today in the semifinals.State champion Itawamba plays East Central at 2 p.m. in the otherwomen’s semifinals game.

Championship finals are Thursday night at 6 (women) and 8 (men).Regional champions advance to the NJCAA National Tournaments, menat Hutchinson, Kan., and women at Salina, Kan.

The Trojans played a deliberate game and outrebounded Co-Lin35-23. Howard, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard from Greenville, had 9 ofteam’s rebounds. Antoine Taylor, a 6-7 sophomore forward fromMemphis, chipped in 18 points and 7 rebounds.

“Delta played well from the beginning,” said Co-Lin men’s coachDennis Sims. “They guarded us tough and forced us to take badshots.

“We didn’t play to our potential,” Sims continued. “Overall,this Co-Lin team was overachievers. I am proud to have coachedthem.”

Sophomore center Greg Truvillion led Co-Lin’s attack with 17points and 9 rebounds. Freshman guard Trent Hutchin tossed in 13points. Sophomore guard Corey London netted 10 points.

“We have been playing up and down all year,” said Delta coachDerrick Fears. “We were able to execute tonight and we were able tomatch up with Co-Lin.

“Howard played real well for us offensively and defensively,”Fears added. “Co-Lin is very good and well-coached.”

The Trojans held a 30-28 halftime lead.