No. 19 Roadrunners Upset No. 2 Trinity Valley

By GARY STALLARD

AC Athletics

(Clara Sonet photo for AC Athletics)

After seeing their Roadrunners suffer a heartbreaking loss on the road this past Wednesday, Angelina College fans and coaches couldn't help but wonder how the AC guys would respond on Saturday against the nation's second-best team.

A crowded house inside Shands Gymnasium saw their 19th-ranked Roadrunners build a big second-half lead over No. 2 Trinity Valley Community College, weather a late storm and leave the floor dancing after a 57-52 win to shock the Cardinals, who dropped just their second loss of the entire season.

Chris Carpenter led AC in scoring with 20 points, followed by Christian Jones with 16 points – including four three pointers in the game. Jones and Daemon Ely pulled down 10 rebounds each, and the Roadrunner defense – ranked No. 1 nationally for most of the season – held the Cards to 29 percent shooting (16-of-55) from the field.

Kanaan Holder's back-to-back buckets late in the first half capped a 7-0 AC run to give the Roadrunners a 10-point lead with 5:00 to play. TVCC's Zati Loubaki responded with four straight points to cut the AC lead to five points, but AC closed out the half with Qasim Boyd's bucket and pair of free throws and a long three pointer from Jones. The Roadrunners lead by 10, 33-23, at the half.

The 'Runners widened the gap in the second half, leading by 17 points with 14:02 to play in the game. The Cardinals then put together their best offensive surge of the game, going on a 14-4 run and eventually cutting the Angelina College lead to just three points with 1:30 to play.

That's when a little sophomore experience kicked in at exactly the right time.

AC soph Chris Carpenter sealed the game in the final 1:17, going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line to set off the Shands Gymnasium celebration and put a wrap on the 57-52 final score.

The Roadrunners (18-4, 11-3) will be on the road this week, starting with Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. game against Blinn College in Brenham and wrapping up with Saturday's 4 p.m. contest against Navarro College in Corsicana.

The email address for AC's Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.