Lions Reach District Semifinals after Solving Suns

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – Dallas College Mountain View men's basketball team beat Dallas College Cedar Valley 90-79 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South District quarterfinals Tuesday night.

The fifth-seeded Lions (13-18) advance to play second-seeded Dallas College North Lake (16-14) in the semifinals 8 p.m. Thursday at Dallas College Richland. That game will air on TSBN Network.

It is the fourth straight year Mountain View will meet North Lake in the district semifinals. North Lake has won each of those postseason matchups.

Ashton Price scored 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting, while adding eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. It was the second time in the last three games the Dallas Athletic Conference Player of the Week scored over 30.

Louis Conner and Augustine Chibuko both had 15 points apiece, and Adrian Banks added 11 as four Lions' starters reached double figures. Conner had nine assists and two steals. Chibuko grabbed 11 boards, and hit 6 of 11 field goals. Noel Duplechain grabbed eight boards.

Kendall Mitchell had 25 points, Charlie Gutierrez 17 points and nine boards, and Chris Greenwood 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for Cedar Valley. Armani Reese had seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Chris Vela scored nine points. 

Mountain View shot 44.3 percent, while going 10 of 24 from the 3-point line.

The Lions pulled away in the final five minutes, and outscored the Suns 56-45 in the second half. Cedar Valley (12-16) played even with Mountain View in the first half, matching the Lions' 34 points through the first 20 minutes.

Mountain View was 18 of 27 from the free throw line for 66.7 percent. Conner went 6 for 6 from the stripe.

The Lions lost all three regular season meetings to the Suns, but punched their ticket to the district semifinals for the fourth straight year.