No. 12 Roadrunners Stifle Tyler in Tourney Quarterfinals

By GARY STALLARD

AC Athletics

BAYTOWN, TX – For the No. 12 Angelina College Roadrunner basketball team, the recipe for a season's worth of success has seemed fairly simple: Suffocate the opposing offense by employing the nation's No. 1 defense, and then play the hot hand on the offensive end.

Thursday night in Baytown, the defense did its usual stellar job, while the offense provided some icing on the cake.

The 'Runners held Tyler Junior College to just 21 points in the first half on the way to AC's convincing 81-44 win in men's quarterfinal action of the Region XIV Conference Tournament at Lee College in Baytown.

The Roadrunners (18-4) advance to Friday's regional semifinals against No. 9 Panola College. The two teams split their season series, with the 'Runners beating the Ponies at Shands Gymnasium by a 67-55 margin in overtime and Panola winning 50-42 in Carthage.

Against Tyler on Thursday, AC saw five Roadrunners post double figures in scoring: Christian Jones (15 points), Kyle Morgan and Daemon Ely (14 points each), Chris Carpenter (12 points) and Jordan Mathews (10 points). Kanaan Holder finished with eight points.

Ely added 14 rebounds to his totals, while Mathews added eight boards.

AC converted nine three pointers on the night, with Jones drilling three of those. Holder, Carpenter and Morgan hit two treys each.

Friday's semifinal game is set for an 8 p.m. tipoff at Lee College in Baytown. Live streaming will be available at TSBN Sports.

The email address for AC's Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.