SCC hosts Williston State in District 11 championship game.

By SUSAN DENK

sdenk@thehawkeye.com

The good news for the Southeastern Community College men's basketball team is Williston (N.D.) State looks a lot like Region XI foe Iowa Western.

The bad news is the Blackhawks lost 2-of-3 games to the Reivers. But that one win was when it counted, in the region semifinals.

Now SCC needs to use its experience against Iowa Western to help it against a team it has never before seen, the Region 13 champion Tetons.

The Blackhawks and Williston State meet tonight in the District 11 championship game. The winner advances to the NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.

Fifth-ranked Northwest Florida State awaits the winner in the tournament's first game, March 16 at 10 a.m.

The Tetons have won 17 straight games, including last Wednesday's 82-62 win over North Dakota State College of Science in the Region 13 title tilt.

The Blackhawks, on the other hand, lost nine of their final 14 games in the regular season.

SCC, though, has saved its best basketball for the postseason.

After losing twice to Iowa Western, the Blackhawks went to Council Bluffs and won for the second straight time in the postseason. Then SCC went to Ottumwa and beat Indian Hills before wrapping up the region title at home against the Warriors.

"When the going gets rough, we just have to pull together," said SCC freshman Abby Ruple after he scored the game-winning basket in the region championship game. "That's what we've been doing lately, trying to go all the way."

It will be a tough challenge against the Tetons, who like the Reivers, have a strong inside/outside game.

Charlie Chapman and Luke Martinez combined to go 176-of-457 (39 percent) from 3-point range. The Blackhawks as a team have attempted as many 3-pointers this year.

"Between the two of them we're going to have to have a very good perimeter defense against them," SCC coach Terry Carroll said.

Chapman averages 15.6 points per game while Martinez scores 19.6.

Two other players score in double figures, guard Tarell Clark (17.3 ppg) and forward Shamile Jeffers (13.8 ppg).

"They're difficult to defend because they stretch our defense," Carroll said. "They're very similar to Iowa Western. They have guards like that and can make threes, and their inside game is solid."

On defense, Williston State will test the Blackhawks' teamwork.

"They mix up defenses so you have to be on the same page and thinking alike," said Carroll, whose team has come together in the last few games.

The Blackhawks remember last year's district loss to the Wildcats. And while they face a different North Dakota team tonight, the embarrassing loss still stings.

"(Wednesday) was a big game for us. We needed that. But not over though," said sophomore Steven Baker, who scored 15 points in that loss. "Last year we won it, and went up there. Now they come here. It's personal. It's personal."