Lamar State sports information

JACKSONVILLE — Ethan White was in the right place at the right time and now, Lamar State College Port Arthur is advancing to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Region XIV men’s basketball tournament.

White, a redshirt freshman from San Antonio, knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner, beating the buzzer in overtime to lift the Seahawks to a 65-62 win over Navarro College on Tuesday night in the first round of the regional tourney. The Hawks, now 15-16 for the season, have won seven of their last nine games. They’ll face No. 2 seed Tyler Junior College on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the tourney quarterfinals.

“It’s about the chemistry,” White said. “This team is not at all like the team back in December (when it lost to Navarro 69-65). We’re one group now. We eat together, we sit together, we go to class together … we win together.”

The No. 10 seeded Seahawks and the No. 7 Bulldogs (18-12 for the season) battled neck-and-neck through regulation with the game heading into overtime tied 52-52.

It appeared that the Hawks were prepared to run away in the extra period when sophomore Jase Miguez hit a three-pointer and sophomore Rodney Brown added a bucket for a 57-52 lead with 3:30 left.

The closest Navarro could get through most of OT was two points at 62-60 with 56 seconds left but after a Seahawks turnover, Navarro tied the game for the 11th time at 62-62.

That scenario set up the buzzer-beating heroics by White.

With 7 seconds left on the clock, sophomore Travious Grubbs drove the ball into the lane, drawing in three Navarro defenders with him. Just as he hit that defensive wall, Grubbs kicked the ball back out to White who tossed up the trey for the win.

“That’s the biggest shot in my college career,” White said. “I’ve practiced that shot hundreds of times. I knew how it was supposed to feel. I had missed so many shots tonight. I knew if I got the chance, I could hit it.”

White finished with eight points after going 3 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 6 from beyond the three-point line. Brown finished with yet another double-double performance, collecting 13 points with 10 rebounds, while Grubbs had 10 points and 13 boards.

“Tra Grubbs made a good play. He penetrated and they pinched in to stop him and Tra made a nice pass to Ethan. He had his feet set and he knocked it down,” LSCPA coach Lance Madison said. “It was a good play by two good players.

“We played with confidence, we weren’t afraid to make plays and tonight we were an aggressive team. It made the difference.”

Navarro’s Trey Pulliam and Emmanuel Egbuta each scored 17 points to pace the Bulldogs.