The LSU Eunice Men’s Basketball team has been named the number two seed for the upcoming NJCAA Division I Region 23 Tournament, the NJCAA announced this weekend. The Bengals receive a first-round bye in the 12-team field and will host a second-round game on Wednesday, March 1 at 7:00PM inside the HPRE Center.
LSUE will face the winner of Monday’s game between 7. Meridian Community College and 10. Holmes Community College. The Bengals received the 2-seed for winning the Louisiana Community Colleges Athletic Conference (LCCAC) regular season championship and having the second-best Massey Rating among teams in Region 23.
LSU Eunice is fresh off capturing the program’s fourth straight LCCAC regular season championship. The Bengals have now won the last three conference crowns with undefeated records and will take a 30-game LCCAC win streak into next season.
The Bengals navigated one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the country, playing four games against teams currently in the Top 20 of the NJCAA Division I rankings. LSUE defeated No. 18 McLennan on the road opening weekend. The Bengals also went unbeaten against Mississippi-based Region 23 teams including a win over MACCC Regular Season Champion Copiah-Lincoln in Eunice.
Bryce Roberts leads a balanced Bengals’ offense, averaging 15.1 points per game. LSUE also features three other players averaging more than eight points per game including Nasir DeGruy, Puoch Dubuol, Jr. and Kiani Saxon. The team’s calling card may be defense, currently ranked in the Top 40 nationally in turnovers/game (12.1, 38th), steals/game (11.8, 10th), points/game allowed (67.2, 33rd), opponents’ field goal percentage (40.8, 34th) and opponents’ three-point percentage (28.5, 17th).
Meridian CC finished sixth in the MACCC regular season with a 16-8 overall record and 7-7 in conference play. Holmes CC was 14-10 on the year with a 6-8 record in the MACCC. These two teams played their only matchup of the year on Thursday, March 23 with Holmes winning 66-50 on the road.
The tournament field is rounded out by first-round matchups of 8. Jones College and 9. Northeast Mississippi CC; 5. Pearl River CC and 12. East Central CC; 6. SW Mississippi and 11. Coahoma CC. Copiah-Lincoln is the overall number one seed with 3. Itawamba CC and 4. East Mississippi the other teams to receive byes.
The winners of the second-round matchups will then move to the Final Four taking place March 4-5 on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. The winner of the Region 23 Tournament will receive an automatic berth into the 2023 NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship taking place March 20-25 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kansas.
2023 NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Region 23 Tournament | February 27-March 5
A.E. Wood Coliseum, Mississippi College
First Round, February 27 (Home Sites)
5. Pearl River CC (17-7) vs. 12. East Central CC (15-11) – 6:00PM
6. Southwest Mississippi CC (16-10) vs. 11. Coahoma CC (13-11) – 7:30PM
7. Meridian CC (16-8) vs. 10. Holmes CC (14-10) – 6:00PM
8. Jones College (14-10) vs. 9. Northeast Mississippi CC (16-10) – 6:00PM
Second Round, March 1 (Home Sites)
1.Copiah-Lincoln CC (18-5) vs. 8. Jones/9.NEMCC Winner – 6:00PM
2. LSU Eunice (19-3) vs. 7.MCC/10.HCC Winner – 7:00PM
3. Itawamba CC (21-4) vs. 6.SMCC/11.CCC Winner – 6:00PM
4. East Mississippi (19-5) vs. 5.PRCC/12. ECCC Winner – 6:00PM