CALDWELL TECH DEFEATS WEST GEORGIA TECH 81-66 IN NJCAA DIVISION III DISTRICT 7 CHAMPIONSHIP
WENTWORTH, North Carolina – West Georgia Tech’s postseason run ended today in the championship game of the District 7 Tournament with an 81-66 loss to Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (N.C.).
The Golden Knights finished the season at 18-16 overall.
Caldwell Tech (23-10) will move on to the NJCAA Division III National Championship Tournament and represent District 7 in action beginning on Thursday in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y.
The game closed out the West Georgia Tech careers for Randazerro Chaney, Victor Wynn and Derrick Weeks.
Chaney led the Golden Knights with 17 points and Wynn added 13 points. Freshman Alyja Hennings also scored in double-figures with 11 points.
“That’s the group that laid the foundation for our program,” WGTC head coach Niki Okolovitch said. “They led us one step away from the Final 8. I’m going to miss those guys, all three of them are great kids. I look forward to watching them at the next level.”
Cordaris Towns scored a game-high 18 for Caldwell Tech.
West Georgia Tech struggled the entire game to find an offensive rhythm against the Caldwell Tech defense.
The Golden Knights shot 36 percent from the field and 7-of-21 from three-point range. Caldwell, meanwhile, shot 47.5 percent.
“They got us caught up in a half-court game,” Okolovitch said. “Our shots didn’t fall today, and the ball just didn’t bounce our way at times. But Caldwell is a great team, they played well all night, and they did what they needed to do. They stated the game with the full-court press and they got out of it and went to a zone and that was smart on their part.”
Caldwell Tech took an early 20-12 lead with a little less than ten minutes remaining in the first half.
But West Georgia Tech got back in the game and took the lead with a 13-4 over the next six minutes to bring the score to 25-24 with 3:56 remaining in the opening stanza.
The Cobras closed the half on a 7-2 run and to lead at halftime, 34-29.
Caldwell maintained its lead in the second half, stretching it out to eight at the 10:00 minute mark, 52-44.
After that, West Georgia Tech got to within six on a couple of occasions, but failed to generate the big run that it needed to get within striking distance.
“I can’t be mad at those guys,” Okolovitch said. “They played with all their might. I told them in the locker room after the game that they have meant so much to this basketball program.”
West Georgia Tech flourished in the postseason for the second-straight season. Last year, the Golden Knights were bounced from the District 7 Tournament semifinals after winning the Region championship.
This year, WGTC enjoyed the dance a little longer.