CARTERVILLE, ILL. – John A. Logan built an insurmountable 37-point lead in the first half and went on to defeat Wabash Valley, 83-43, in the NJCAA Central District tournament semi-finals on Wednesday night.
Logan (17-4), the No. 1 seed in the tourney, will now host the championship game of the tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. against third-seeded Vincennes (17-5), which defeated Shawnee, 79-49, in the other semi.
That sets up a battle of Top 20 teams in the finale. Logan is rated 12th, and Vincennes 20th. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NJCAA national tournament, while the loser may still get in by earning one of eight at-large bids to the 24-team field.
Logan was already ahead, 18-5, when the Vols embarked on a 24-point run that put the game out of reach at 42-5 with eight minutes left in the first half.
Wabash Valley (12-10) regrouped to finish the first half on a 16-7 run. But the halftime deficit was still daunting at 28 points (49-21).
Once again, the Warriors showed their moxey, opening the second-half with an 11-6 surge that brought them to within 55-32 at the 12-minute mark.
But they would get no closer. Logan cemented the verdict with a 15-3 run of its' own that made it 70-35 with five minutes left.
After hitting 12 3-point field goals in a quarterfinal round win at Southwestern Illinois, the Warriors struggled mightily from beyond the arc line in this game, hitting only one 3-ball in the first half, and just two more in the final period.
JeJuan Weatherspoon, one of three two-year players for veteran coach Mike Carpenter and one of four sophomores on the roster, led the Warriors on the final night of the season with 11 points.
Douglas Watkins topped the Vols scorebook with 13 points.