Storm begin national tourney today

by Zach Kepley: Sports Editor
The Thomasville Times

March 11, 2010

Davidson County Community College has arrived in Delhi, NY, in search of a National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national championship.

“We are not in Thomasville, that is for sure,” coach Matt Ridge said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Playing big-time basketball has landed them in a big-time place, as the Storm prepare for a quarterfinal contest with Roxbury (Mass.) Community College today at 6 p.m.

Davidson (29-4) will play a Roxbury squad that is nearly identical to Montgomery College-Germantown, the team the Storm beat 85-83 to advance to the national tournament.

Playing an up and down pace, Roxbury can fill up the scoreboard with points, but so can DCCC.

“We are hoping we can stop them from scoring, but it does not look like too many people have been able to do that this year,” said Ridge.

Roxbury (23-3) is the No. 4 ranked team in the latest Division III poll, and has three players that could cause plenty of worry for Davidson. Forward Jeffrey Cannon averages 26 points, which is good enough for fourth in the nation at this level. Ravon Dunbar averages 24 points per game and Darnell Martin controls the inside averaging 14 points, 13 boards and six blocks.

Davidson will see plenty of pressure from Roxbury, which uses its athleticism to its advantage and tries to get into a fast-paced game. DCCC can be careless with the ball at times, so each possession is an important one.

“They play a lot like we do, said Ridge. “One of the keys to the game is whether or not we turn the ball over. Their offense is created by their defense. If we take care of the ball we should have a decent chance at the end.”

Justin Glover leads DCCC in scoring with a 19.3 average. He and point guard Phillip Williams contained the guards of Montgomery, but keeping up with Roxbury will be a bit tougher.

The Storm will play again Friday regardless of what happens in the quarterfinals. Each team plays three games to decide the final seedings.