Northwest Florida State, Odessa and Monroe will all play in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Men’s Basketball Championship from March 20-25 in Hutchinson, Kansas.
That’s not the only thing these three teams have in common. Each one has a native of Waterbury on its team. Malik Petteway at Northwest Florida State, Tyshon Rogers at Odessa (Texas), and Jarron Chapman at Monroe (New York). All are sophomores, so this is the final run at the JC level.
Petteway was a first team All-Panhandle Conference performer. Petteway played in all 30 games for the 27-3 Raiders and started each game. He averaged 9.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest.
Rogers played in all 32 games for 27-5 Odessa and made six starts. He averaged 8.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per outing. Rogers shot 50.8 percent from the field and a solid 80 percent at the foul line.
Chapman made 10 starts in 29 games for 23-10 Monroe. He averaged 8.3 points and 1.1 steals per contest.
Northwest Florida State is the No. 8 seed and has a first round bye. It will play the winner of No. 9 Jones County and No. 24 Caldwell Tech on March 21 at 5:30 p.m.
Odessa is the No. 5 seed and also has a first round bye. It will play the winner of No. 13 St. Petersburg and No. 20 Highland (Illinois) on March 22 at 3 p.m.
No. 22 Monroe has a first round game against No. 11 Indian Hills on March 21 at 1 p.m.
All games are being played at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Malik Petteway, NW Fla St
Jarron Chapman, Monroe