No. 1 Trinity Valley teams sweep KC men, women

KILGORE, TX -- The Trinity Valley Community College men's and women's basketball teams came to Kilgore both ranked No. 1 in the nation and lived up to their billing.  Both the KC men and women held their own, but strong second halves in both games by the Cardinals resulted in a sweep of KC's teams Jan. 16 in Masters Gymnasium

TVCC 74, LADY RANGERS 60

The No. 1 Trinity Valley Cardinals were led by four double-figure scorers to defeat the Lady Rangers, 74-60, handing the Lady Rangers their fourth-straight loss.

KC went into halftime down by 11 points and were only outscored by three in the second half.  But TVCC's potent offensive attack was just too much for KC.

TVCC's Maya Singleton had an impressive 14 points and 10 rebounds along with Alisha Washington leading the way for the Cardinals with 18 points.  TVCC's Naomi Davenport came off the bench to score 10 points and Leah Mathis posted 14 points in the Cardinal victory.

Kilgore was led in scoring by Dominique Thomas who posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.  Two other players were in double figures for KC with freshman Lauren Carroll and Adrianna Edwards scoring 16 and 11 points, respectively.

With the loss, the Lady Rangers drop to 10-8 overall and 4-5 in Region XIV play.  The Lady Cards improve to 8-0 in conference play. 

The Lady Rangers' next game is on the road at Paris Junior College 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20.

TVCC 58, KC MEN 46

The Kilgore men put up an impressive first half against the No. 1 team in the nation, but Trinity Valley pulled away in the second half to remain undefeated in conference play, 58-46.

KC was only down four points at the half, 28-24, and even tied the game up with 18:49 left in the second half, but that ended up as the only tie of the game.

TVCC pulled away from there and went on a strong run midway through the second half, up by as many as 18 points.

Kilgore only had one player in double figures, Jaleel Wheeler, with 15 points.  Ndene Gueye had a strong game, scoring 8 points and grabbing 9 boards.

With the loss, KC drops to 13-6 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

They will travel to Paris Wednesday, Jan. 20, to face the Dragons in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

PHOTO ABOVE: KC's Tye Wilburn drives the lane against TVCC defender Stephen Edwards.  Wilburn finished the game with 3 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Photo by Jon Vashey/KC

PHOTO ABOVE: Lady Ranger Lauren Carrol goes up for a layup against Trinity Valley defender Troi Swain.  Carroll finished the game with 16 points, six rebounds and three asists. Photo by Richard Nguyen/The Flare