Wright on! SLCC advances to semifinals

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — If Salt Lake Community College gets to enjoy many more performances like this from D.J. Wright, claiming a national championship shouldn't be a difficult goal to achieve.

Wright scored 22 first-half points to help the Bruins cruise to a 91-55 quarterfinal victory over 10th-ranked North Dakota State College of Science on Wednesday evening in the NJCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The freshman forward scored a game-high 30 points to lead SLCC (29-6). Nate Bendall added 17 points and Ricky Schoff chipped in 14 for the Bruins, who have now won five straight games since closing out the regular season with back-to-back losses to College of Eastern Utah.

As soon as Wright heated up, there was nothing the Wildcats could do to stop him or 13th-ranked SLCC.

The Bruins wasted no time seizing control. They built up a quick 11-4 lead after sinking four of their first five field goal attempts.

Wright helped create an even bigger cushion when he scored back-to-back 3-pointers and drained three free throws — a run of nine straight points — to put SLCC ahead 26-8 with 8:45 left before halftime. Once he added his final points before halftime — a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left — the Bruins had carved out an insurmountable 47-24 lead.

As a team, SLCC shot 64 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half. The Wildcats, on the other hand, shot a dismal 27 percent and missed all seven 3-pointers they attempted before halftime.

For the game, the Bruins shot 58 percent from the field and NDSCS managed only 29 percent.

SLCC will face a much larger obstacle in its title quest when it meets top-ranked Chipola Community College in the semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. The Indians (32-1) have won 31 straight games since suffering a 78-71 loss to Three Rivers College.

— John Coon