The Northeast Lakeview College Nighthawks ended the Armadillos’ bid for a third consecutive appearance in the Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship game Saturday, taking SAC down 72-64 in the semifinal round at St. Philip’s College’s William Allen Hudgins Health and Wellness Building.
The Nighthawks jumped out to a quick start with an aggressive defense that set the tone, and the Armadillos struggled to prevent dribble penetration, leaving too many open shots for Northeast Lakeview.
SAC managed to stay within striking distance early and trailed 39-31 at halftime, but the Armadillos sustained a big blow when Forward Reginald “Jack” Stewart sustained a knee injury in the first half and was unable to return.
The Nighthawks turned up the gas in the second half, scoring six quick points and extending their lead to 14. SAC’s offense stalled under heavy pressure as the Armadillos struggled to get any clean looks.
Undermanned and down a key player, SAC couldn’t get enough defensive stops to cut the deficit. Whenever the Armadillos attempted to make a run, the Nighthawks had an answer. SAC also struggled from behind the arc, converting just five 3-point attempts.
“They came out playing. We can’t take nothing away from them,” SAC Head Coach Jim Alcala told the Sundial. “We got out-rebounded on certain balls, and then we lapsed at certain times. It was still a close game, but we could not close the gap. And we gave them some easy baskets.”
SAC attempted to employ their full court press defense strategy that has been successful in recent games in the second half, but Northeast Lakeview adjusted well and was able to convert after beating the press into some transition points.
“They beat us on it because they were prepared for that. That’s why I pulled it back. They got some easy baskets, and we were closing the gap, but then I didn’t want to keep running it and extend the gap,” Alcala said.
SAC Guard Demetrice Mims led the Armadillos on offense with 21 points. He hit four of his 3-point field goal attempts.
“We can score all we want, but we can’t get stops,” Mims told the Sundial. “You aren’t going to win a game like that. You have to get stops; that’s the most important thing.”
SAC Center Markus Salinas helped pick up the slack in Reginald “Jack” Stewart’s absence, finishing with 17 points. Salinas received a standing ovation from SAC fans in the crowd after fouling out with a little over a minute left.
“We fought hard, but we fell short. I feel like we all tried our best. So that’s all you could do there today — just 100 percent effort,” Salinas told the Sundial.
SAC’s season ends after an up-and-down regular season in which they finished 7-6 after starting 3-5. Northeast Lakeview went on to dominate the Palo Alto College Palominos 78-51 Sunday at NLC’s Llano Wellness Center to win the TCAC championship.
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