SHAWNEE, Oklahoma -- The NOC Tonkawa Mavericks scrapped out a 77-71 win over Seminole Thursday night in the NJCAA Region 2 Quarterfinal at OBU.
The 7th ranked Mavs (28-3) advance to the semi-finals against 24th ranked Murray State Friday at 8 p.m. The teams split two regular season games, each winning at home. NOC is the third seed while Murray is seeded second in the Region 2 Tournament.
Demaree King led the Mavs with 20 points while JD Ray had 15 and Avante Lederer 14.
Malik Crawford led with six rebounds while Barron Tanner and Ray had five each. Ray added six assists and four steals.
"Survive and advance is the name of the game this time of year," said coach Donnie Jackson. "We will take this win. We fought through adversity losing Tyrel (Morgan who was injured in the first half) and with four guys in foul trouble. Adrian (Boykin) and Justin (Wilson) gave us good minutes in the first half."
"Malik (Crawford) and Lupa (Deaveon Bankston) made a couple big plays in key moments," he added. "I was proud of the way we grinded out the win. This is what tournament basketball is all about, just find a way to win, ugly or pretty it doesn't matter."
The Mavs advanced while shooting just 39 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range. The Mavs were also outrebounded 46-30.
Yet, the Mavs were able to make enough plays down the stretch.
The game was tied at 55-55 with 8:30 left when Crawford scored on a short jumper that would give the Mavs the lead for good.
NOC would build a 66-57 but Seminole fought back cutting the lead to 71-68. The Mavs then sealed the win with six straight free throws to earn the 77-71 win.
"We will need to be hooked up and ready to guard tomorrow," Jackson said. "Murray is very versatile and they shoot the ball extremely well. We will have to grind it out defensively to give ourselves the best chance to win."
Thursday's win was the Mavs' third win over Seminole this year.
Mavs 77, Seminole 71
1 2--Total
Seminole 35 36-- 71
Mavs 38 39-- 77
Mavs--D.King 20, J. Ray 15, A. Lederer 14, D. Bankston 8, M. Crawford 6, B. Tanner 5, A. Boykin 4, J. Wilson 4, S. Grisby 1.