No. 5 Richard Bland Plays No. 4 Parkland In Quarterfinal On Thursday
Tournament Central | Tournament Bracket (PDF)
Danville Commerical-News (1st Round)
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College, the No. 5 seed at the 2017 NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, will play No. 4 seed Parkland (Ill.) College in a quarterfinal contest on Thursday night, March 23 at 7 p.m. ET at Danville Area Community College in Danville, Illinois. The District 15, Region 10 Champion Statesmen have an overall record of 29-4, and are making their second appearance at the national tournament in three years, while the District 16, Region 24 Champion Cobras have a record of 28-3. All games played during the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship will be streamed online and available for free at njcaatv.com.
GAME INFORMATION
No. 5 Richard Bland (29-4) vs. No. 4 Parkland (28-3)
Date: Thursday, March 23, 2017
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Live Video: njcaatv.com (Free)
Location: Mary Miller Center | Danville, Illinois
Series History: 1st Meeting
Scouting the Statesmen
Richard Bland, ranked No. 8 in the final NJCAA Division II Poll, is 29-4 overall after an 81-70 win past Cincinnati (Ohio) State Technical and Community College in a first-round game on March 21. The Statesmen, who are an outstanding 103-29 (.780) over the past four seasons, are coached by head coach Chuck Moore, who is in his fourth season, and assisted by fourth-year assistant coach Brian Henderson, second-year assistant coach Preston Beverly and first-year graduate assistant coach Mike Wynn.
Through 33 games, Richard Bland has been led in scoring by local 6-3 sophomore guard Gevon Arrington/Petersburg, who is averaging 13.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He is followed by 6-9 sophomore center Jaquan Wooten/Kinston, North Carolina, who is averaging 12.7 points (65 FG%), 9.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks with 12 double-doubles, while 6-4 sophomore guard Deandre Clark/Orange is averaging 12.4 points (78 3FGs), 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Arrington (22), freshman Tim Bing Jr./District Heights, Maryland (15), Wooten (14) and Clark (13) led the way against Cincinnati State. Richard Bland is averaging 84.0 points per game, while allowing 67.4 points to opponents for a scoring margin of +16.6. The Statesmen have won nine-straight games, and have 16 wins in their last 17 games overall.
Scouting the Cobras
Parkland, ranked No. 7 in the final NJCAA Division II Poll, is 28-3 overall after a 62-54 win past Johnson County (Kan.) Community College in another first-round contest on March 21, and is coached by Anthony Figueroa. The Cobras have been led in scoring by sophomores Cornelius McIntosh (11.0) and Terrion Howard (9.8). Sophomore Luke Beesley led the way against Johnson County with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Parkland, located just 40 miles west of Danville, Illinois in Champaign, averages 76.7 points, while yielding 65.9 points for a scoring margin of +10.8. The Cobras have won 22-straight games, including a forfeit win against National Tournament No. 2 seed South Suburban (Ill.) College on January 10 (actual result was a 74-63 road loss). South Suburban (22-11) was forced to forfeit 11 games due to NJCAA sanctions for using an ineligible player.
Series History
Richard Bland and Parkland are playing for the first time in the sport of men's basketball.
Everybody Plays, Everybody Scores
Richard Bland features all 13 team members who are averaging at least 10.0 minutes, including four who are playing at least 21.5 minutes, while the other nine are averaging between 10.0 and 15.6 minutes, respectively. The Statesmen have three players who are scoring at least 12.4 points per game, and seven others who are scoring at least 5.0 points, while three more average between 2.4 and 3.9 points, respectively.
Among the National Leaders
Richard Bland ranks 10th in NJCAA Division II rebounding (45.9), 16th in steals (10.7), 17th in blocks (4.8), 30th in field goal percentage (47.0%, 1025-2180) and assists (18.2), and 36th in scoring (84.0). Jaquan Wooten ranks third nationally in field goal percentage (65.2%, 163-250), fifth in blocks (2.8) and 19th in rebounding (9.7). Freshman Ricky Hicks/Bronx, New York ranks 43rd nationally in assists (4.7). Deandre Clark is tied for 34th nationally in three-point field goals (78).
All-Region 10 Honors
Jaquan Wooten was selected to the 2016-17 All-Region 10 First Team, while Gevon Arrington and Deandre Clark were each named to the All-Region 10 Second Team. Wooten was designated as one of the region's three All-American nominations.
100-Plus Wins | Four Years
Richard Bland earned its 100th win over the last four seasons with a 108-52 Region 10 quarterfinal victory past Vance-Granville (N.C.) Community College on March 5. The Statesmen are currently 103-29 (.780) since men's basketball was reinstated at the College in 2013, following a 20-year hiatus from competitive sports.
2015 NJCAA Division II National Champions | Perfect In Danville
Richard Bland is making its second National Tournament appearance in three years, after winning the 2015 NJCAA Division II National Championship. The Statesmen defeated John Wood (Ill.) Community College 64-53 on March 21, 2015 at the Mary Miller Center on the campus of DACC in Illinois. Richard Bland finished its most memorable storybook 2014-15 campaign with a school-record of 32-4, winning the national title in only its second year back in action following the 20-year hiatus. The Statesmen are now a perfect 5-0 in games played in Danville, Illinois during the post-season National Tournament, including the 4-0 run to the title in 2015.
Up Next
If Richard Bland wins the quarterfinal game, the Statesmen will play on Friday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET against the winner of the No. 1 Southwestern (Iowa) (33-1) vs. No. 8 Pima (Ariz.) (22-11) quarterfinal contest. A loss on Thursday would have Richard Bland playing on Friday, March 24 at 2 p.m. ET against the loser of the Southwestern-Pima contest. Please continue to check rbcathletics.com and follow the Statesmen on social media via Twitter (@GoRBCStatesmen) and Facebook (rbcstatesmen) for tournament progress and game times this week.