Lamar State's Matt Cross is District 14 Coach of the Year

[LamarStatesports]

Lamar State College-Port Arthur head basketball coach Matt Cross has been named the District 14 Coach of the Year.

Cross earned the accolade after his seventh-seeded Seahawks defeated three nationally-ranked teams, including No. 4 San Jacinto College and No. 9 Trinity Valley Community College, on their way to capturing the Region XIV championship and a berth in the NJCAA Division 1 Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Hutchinson, KS.

Sports writers across the country continue to marvel at the post-season success of Lamar State, which won a school record 21 games in the regular season, followed by four victories in the conference tournament.

Phrases ranging from “shocking upset” to “improbable run” to “mind-boggling feat” to “uncharted territory” showed up in news stories and opinion columns about the Seahawks.

Cross doesn't see his team's record-setting accomplishment as a miracle. He sees it as the product of hard work, discipline and very tough defensive work by players he describes as “great kids who have tremendous character and tremendous heart.”

That character and heart was tested often in the Region XIV Tournament. The Seahawks were 20 points down and nine and a half minutes from elimination in their first-round game against Kilgore College, before coming back to win in overtime.

Lamar State easily handled No. 9 Trinity Valley Community College in the quarterfinals, but had to overcome double-digit deficits against Jacksonville College in the semi-final.

In the championship game, the seventh-seeded Seahawks trailed San Jacinto by 16 points with 17 minutes remaining, then staged a 29-7 run to claim the lead and hold off the top-seeded Ravens, 72-67.

When he was introduced as the Lamar State's third head coach in 2009, Cross talked about winning a national championship. Most observers thought that was nice oratory, but not very likely, especially on the short term considering that this is only Lamar State's seventh season of intercollegiate basketball and Cross' second year at the helm.

But the Seahawks and Cross believe they can win it all.

Sophomore guard Vonn Jones, the MVP of the Region XIV Tournament, and sophomore guard Dion Waiters told reporters Thursday that they and their teammates are confident that they will return to Port Arthur with a national championship.

Lamar State begins that quest at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Hutchinson Sports Arena, where they will will face another highly-rated team that isn't used to losing.

No. 10 Monroe College (28-4) from Bronx, NY, comes into the tournament after winning 19 straight games. The Mustangs went undefeated in conference play for the second straight year.

[WOSgrad]

Congratulations, Coach Cross!

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

congrats