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November 20, 2009

REGION XIV CONFERENCE OPENER: Ready or not, here it comes

Smith says it’s an early start, but Cardinals must be ready

By Jayson Larson Sports Editor

When the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals clash with Tyler Junior College Saturday in the Region XIV Conference opener, they will do so with a perfect 6-0 record.

Cardinals Head Coach Pat Smith will readily admit wins over teams such as Dallas Diesel or Team Elevate — essentially club teams — aren’t the kind of competition he expects to see for most of the season.

“We had a hard time scheduling games,” Smith said. “I think teams don’t like to play a team that has our kind of pressure early. But I don’t mind that because it gave us a chance to work on some things early.”

The Cardinals get a chance to see how far they’ve come along when the Apaches roll into town. Tyler enters the conference opener with a 5-1 record.

It has done so on the strength of a cast of characters that has shown it can post a different high-point scorer on any given night. Byron Maxson has been the weapon of choice lately, including a 21-point performance earlier this week in a win over Northwest State JV. Maxson was 8 of 8 from the field in the first half.

Other nights, it’s been Jonathan Edwards, Kyle Ford or Brad Gay doing the damage at the hoop.

The Cardinals aren’t much different. They’ve got Auburn signee Adrian Forbes, a 6-8 sophomore, who can hurt any team with his prowess at the net.

But Smith said he has also been impressed with the play of others, including Chris Blake — who has led the team in scoring in several wins so far — and Darius Gatson. He also has at his disposal Ernest “Stretch” Watson and Keandre Derrick — a walk-on who has earned a scholarship and a starting position. Derrick’s father, Neil, is a former Cardinal who still owns the school record for points in the season (812, in 1989-90) and three-pointer percentage in a season (52.5 percent).

Smith said while it’s too early to begin conference play just six games into the season, his team is as ready as he feels it can be.

“We need to get off to a fast start,” Smith said.



Come support the Cardinals!

Trinity Valley Community College is offering students and staff members in Henderson County school districts the opportunity to attend Saturday’s TVCC-Tyler Junior College men’s basketball game for free. Game time at Cardinal Gym is 4 p.m.

To take advantage of free admission, students will need to identify themselves as a student of a Henderson County school when they enter the gym. Staff members will need to show a campus ID.

The Cardinals are 6-0 going into the Region XIV Conference opener.

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