Vanguards basketball season ends in second round of conference tourney

The Vance-Granville Community College Vanguards men’s basketball team recently closed out the season at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region X Division II tournament, the first two rounds of which were held at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Va.

 

VGCC was seeded eighth out of the 11 teams in the conference. In the tournament’s opening round on Feb. 28, the Vanguards faced the ninth-seed Eagles of Wake Tech CC. VGCC won the match-up, 83-78, besting the Eagles squad for the second time that month. The victory was the VGCC basketball program’s first win in the post-season since 2010.

 

Khadier Fulcher led the Vanguards with 20 points. He also put up 10 rebounds. Raekwon Hall and Jarrett Ballard were not far behind Fulcher in scoring, contributing 17 points apiece. Leading rebounders were Jordan Bunting and Alcyone Moore (11 each). As a team, VGCC shot 46.7% from the floor and 67.6% from the free-throw line.

 

With the win, the Vanguards advanced to the second (quarter-final) round on March 1, but lost to the number-one seed and regular-season champion, the Hurricanes of Louisburg College. The final score was 84-61. A competitive first half ended with Louisburg up 34-28, but the Hurricanes dominated the second half, 50-33. Tyrek Beverly was VGCC’s top scorer in this game, with 25 points. Fulcher added 18 points and had the most rebounds for his team, with 16.

 

The tourney continues March 6 at Louisburg, where the Hurricanes are set to play the Pitt Community College Bulldogs in the semifinal round.

 

For six sophomores, the tournament marked the end of their VGCC playing careers. They included Jarrett Ballard of Durham, a product of Hillside High School; Jordan Bunting of Macon, Rocky Mount Prep; team captain Khadier Fulcher of Oxford, Granville Central High School; Rodney Kirby of Burlington, Hugh M. Cummings High School; Keyante' Lindsey of Oxford, Granville Central High School; and Treyvon Rogers of Henderson, Walhalla (S.C.) High School.

 

“The men’s basketball program at VGCC is on the rise,” Vanguards head coach Michael Woody said. “The program positively moved forward by leaps and bounds this season! The Vanguards defeated conference rival Wake Tech for the first time in five years. The program’s regular season wins were the most on-court wins in years, and VGCC advanced into the second round of what has to be the most competitive NJCAA Division II conference in the country, with three nationally-ranked teams. The top six teams in our conference can easily compete with any teams in America, and the Vanguards will soon be viewed in that same capacity.”

 

Woody added that the Vanguards have “fiercely competed” during his first two seasons as head coach. “We expanded the traditional recruiting base to include South Carolina and Virginia,” he noted. “We are committed to bringing in the best available student-athletes to assist in the advancement of the basketball program. We have five sophomores receiving strong consideration to continue as student-athletes at NCAA Division II & III and NAIA universities. That’s huge! The team showed its mettle in the conference tournament, winning a game before bowing out. We all are excited about next season and the team’s continued metamorphosis!”

 

The 2014-15 VGCC season was a memorable one that started slowly, with only two wins coming before the holiday break. Fans saw signs of progress on “ Vanguard Night ” on Dec. 3, when the team came within 10 points of beating the then-undefeated, nationally-ranked Louisburg Hurricanes. Then came a dramatic turnaround that started with VGCC’s win over Guilford Tech CC on Jan. 24 . The Vanguards won four of their last eight games during the regular season. Including the tournament, VGCC’s final record was 7-17, with several late-season games being cancelled due to the winter weather.

 

Beverly and Fulcher were consistently the team’s leading scorers, ending the season with nearly identical points per game: Beverly notched 13.7 points on average, and Fulcher, 13.6. Fulcher had the team’s highest field goal percentage (52.6%) and was the leader in rebounding (nine rebounds per game).

 

More information: http://vgcc.springerstudios.net/athletics/