Warren's 27 points help TJC roll past Ponies, 87-58

After an emotional win on the road against a ranked Paris team, Tyler Junior College basketball coach Mike Marquis was worried how his team would react against Panola on Saturday.

He did not have to fret as his No. 20 Apaches came out on fire, rolling to an 87-58 win over Panola College in a Region XIV contest at Wagstaff Gymnasium.

In the first 10 minutes, paced by point guard Brian Warren and wing Micah Thomas, the Apaches (19-2, 9-2) missed only two shots.

“Brian and Mike really got us going,” Marquis said. “They hit some big shots and showed a lot of aggressiveness. From that standpoint forward, every time we shared the ball good things happened for us.”

For the game, Warren, the standout from Indianapolis, missed just two shots en route to 27 points. He canned 5 of 6 from 3-point land and 6 of 7 on two-pointers.

TJC broke out to a 22-3 advantage with Thomas, a 6-7 freshman from Memphis, Tennessee, connecting on 3 of 4 from long distance.

The closest the Ponies would get was 12 points late in the first half.

Warren scored on a driving layup at the buzzer for a 53-31 lead.

For the game, TJC hit on 13 of 27 3-point attempts, while Panola was 7 of 24.

Cameron Johnson came off the bench to score 16 for TJC, while TiAndre Jackson-Young added 13. Thomas and Tajuan Agee finished with nine points each.

Trenton Sandifer led TJC with nine rebounds and two blocks with Edra Luster grabbing eight boards.

Juwan Williams, Tylan Dean, Jaronde Boyd and Nate Brooks all led the Ponies (12-8, 5-5) with

Panola officials said two of the Ponies’ players — Marlon Taylor (16.2 ppg) and TJ Killings (10.0) — were suspended for the game.

The Apaches hit the road Wednesday, traveling to Corsicana to meet Navarro (15-5, 6-4) in a 7 p.m. game. Panola hosts Kilgore that same night in Carthage, also at 7 p.m.

In Saturday’s Region XIV men’s games: Trinity Valley 83, Navarro 66; Paris 75, Kilgore 71; Blinn 57, Lamar State-Port Arthur 56; Angelina 81, Lee 62; and Coastal Bend 118, San Jacinto 111.

In Saturday’s Region XIV

women’s games: Jacksonville 75, Panola 67; Angelina 98, Paris 67; San Jacinto 87, Kilgore 40; Trinity Valley 54, Blinn 50; Bossier Parish 84, Coastal Bend 78, OT. The Apache Ladies had a bye.