PJC Dragons win the Region XIV championship

Published or Revised March 11, 2008

Two free-throws by Paris Junior College's Raymond Sims with 6 seconds on the clock sealed a 50-49 victory over Navarro College Monday evening, giving PJC's Dragons the Region XIV championship and a trip to the NJCAA Men's National Basketball Championship tournament March 18-22 in Hutchinson, Kan. "It's just been a kind of storybook year for us," PJC Athletic Director Jim Moffitt said. "We've hung in there the whole year." Coach Ross Hodge's Dragons never led in the low-scoring defensive game until Sims sank his final two free-throws. "You have to give credit to Navarro," said Moffitt. "They had a great game plan for slowing us down." The Dragons - 28-5 on the season after a conference record of 17-5 - reached the tournament final with victories over Blinn College Saturday and San Jacinto College Sunday evening. The Dragons' Eric Tramiel was named the Region XIV Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Tramiel also was named last week to the All-Region First Team and regular season Regional MVP. Two Dragons, Sims and Ronnie Morgan, were named to the All-Tournament Team. "We are so very proud of Coach Hodge and the young men on the PJC basketball team," said PJC President Dr. Pam Anglin. "These young men represented Paris Junior College and the city of Paris in a way that everyone can be proud of. Thanks to these young men for giving us something to unite over and cheer about. "To see a gym in Kilgore, Texas, filled with Paris Junior College students, faculty and staff and many residents of Paris, cheering in unison throughout the game and watching this team win a trip to the national championship tournament was a night that will go down in the history books for PJC." Moffitt also lauded Hodge, a former PJC student-athlete who is in his second year as the Dragons' head coach. "Ross is a special coach," Moffitt said. "He's very mature and has a feel for the game. He demands a lot from his players, and they respond to him very well." Monday's victory marked the latest in a string of successful seasons for Paris Junior College's NJCAA Division I men's basketball program. The Dragons, under then Head Coach Bill Foy, won the NJCAA National Championship in 2005, and Foy's Dragons followed up in 2006 with a conference championship. In 2007, Hodge's first year as head coach, the Dragons were again conference champions. Reflecting on Monday night's Region XIV finale, as scores of PJC fans swarmed the floor at Masters Gym at Kilgore College to congratulate the Dragons, Moffitt said, "It was truly, truly one of the most exciting moments I've been around in sports."