NLC rolls to easy victory against Mountain View
New basketball team hopes to continue old success
North Lake College’s basketball team pounded Mountain View College into submission, 75-53, at home on Jan. 19.
The Blazers dominated on defense, holding Mountain View without a fi eld goal for more than nine minutes of the second half. Until that shutdown, the game had been close, with North Lake holding a one point lead at halftime.
Freshman Brian Sanders inflicted much of the second-half scoring damage and maintained his role as the team’s top scorer this season.
The win was the Blazers’ second in Metro Athletic Conference play this season. They will play nine more MAC contests before the conference tournament opens Feb. 27.
The team’s season record improved only to 9-11, but three of those losses were to nationally ranked teams in bigger divisions of the National Junior College Athletic Association, or NJCAA.
North Lake Coach Tim McGraw appears to delight in scheduling extremely tough out-of-conference games for his student athletes.
“I think it’s one of the best things we do for our kids,” McGraw said.
Battles against bigger teams toughen players for the playoffs, the coach added.
It’s a plan that has worked in the past.
Two years ago, McGraw’s North Lake team won the Division III NJCAA national championship. Last year, his Blazers finished fourth in the nation.
The Division III national championship finals will be held in March in Delhi, N.Y.