LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — After winning two of their final three games and three of their previous five, the Motlow Bucks men’s basketball team is seeded #7 for the upcoming TCCAA Region VII Tournament and will play #10 Jackson State on Friday, March 3 at 4 p.m. EST at Roane State Community College in Harriman.
Motlow (9-19, 5-13) is the #7 seed by virtue of earning tiebreakers over Volunteer State and Cleveland State, who also finished with a 5-13 conference record. Columbia State (25-4, 15-3) is the tournament’s top seed. Motlow split the season series with Jackson State, losing 71-63 in November in Jackson, and winning 112-84 over the Green Jays in early February at home.
Bucks sophomore Raymon Adams was named 1st Team All-TCCAA for the regular season. Adams averaged 13.3 points per game with 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.7 steals.
The Bucks dropped a 71-55 decision to Southwest Tennessee in Memphis on Saturday in the final game of the regular season. Before that, on Thursday, Motlow beat Experience Academy 106-60. Wednesday the Bucks beat Cleveland State 70-61. Both games were at Copperweld Arena.
Against the Saluqis on Saturday, the Bucks struggled from behind the 3-point line, connecting on only 2-27 attempts. Motlow shot 34.8 percent from the field and hit 7-11 free throws. Motlow only got those 11 free throw attempts, while Southwest hit 21-31 free throws and shot 38.3 percent from the field.
Motlow’s defense was on target, forcing the Saluqis into 28 turnovers and gathering 14 steals. Southwest won the rebounding battle 47-39.
Javon Martin led the Bucks with 14 points while adding six rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Raymon Adams scored 12 with nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocked shots. Mi’Quan Tucker added eight points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots.
Tucker was hot from 3-point range in the win over Experience Academy, hitting 6-8 three-pointers and 11-14 from the field for 28 points. Debron Russell was 8-12 from the field and scored 17 along with 10 rebounds and five steals. Brayden Cashion hit 2-3 three-pointers and scored 12 points, awhile Martin and Adams each scored 10, with Adams collecting 11 rebounds and Martin seven assists.
The TCCAA Region VII Tournament is in Harriman from March 3-7. Admission is $10 per day or $30 for a full tournament pass. Children 12 and under are admitted free. All other K-12 and college students pay $5 per day. To watch games live online, click here.•
he Lynchburg Times is an independently-owned, community newspaper located in Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We focus yon public service, non-partisan, rural journalism. We cover the Metro Moore County government, local tourism, Moore County schools, high school sports, Motlow State Community College, as well as whiskey industry news and regional and state stories that affect our readers.}