Coyotes surging into regional tournament

Now comes the time for that extremely tough start to the season to pay off. 

The Weatherford College men's basketball team, which began the season with a struggling 0-5 start, is now one of the hottest teams entering the NJCAA Region V Tournament.  

Weatherford (18-11, second in the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference) will face Midland (21-9, third in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at McLennan Community College in Waco. The single-elimination tournament runs through Saturday. 

The Coyotes have won nine of their past 10 games as they prepare to face the No. 18 team in the nation. The teams are 1-1 against each other, with Midland winning 70-67 at home on Nov. 9 and the Coyotes winning 90-89 at home in a four-overtime thriller on Nov. 26. 

"I think our team is playing some of their best basketball right now," Coyotes coach Chris Lewis said. "We've gotten more comfortable in our roles and we're playing defense at a high level." 

That slow start to the season can be somewhat explained. 

"Well, I didn't do the best job of scheduling and had us playing four ranked games right off the bat before we knew what kind of team we would be," Lewis said with a smile. "Credit to the guys for not getting down on themselves and believing they are a good team. I told them that it's a process and the real thing that we were working towards was competing for a conference championship." 

The Coyotes are 2-4 against nationally-ranked opponents this season. Along with Midland they are 1-0 against No. 8 South Plains, the WJCAC regular-season champions, and 0-1 against No. 2 Trinity Valley, No. 24 Odessa (WJCAC, fifth, missed postseason) and No. 20 New Mexico Junior College (fourth in WJCAC).  

"All the teams in the west are good. We have to come ready to compete regardless of who the opponent is," Lewis said. "We've played Midland and New Mexico in the non-conference, so being familiar with them helps, but we know that they are different teams than what we saw early in the season just like we're not the same team." 

The Coyotes also know how to win close games. They are 7-3 in contests decided by six points or less. 

What's more, the Coyotes are accomplishing this success with a roster that includes more freshmen (10) than sophomores (9). Among those freshmen, Adrian Shackleton is averaging more than eight points and around three assists per game. 

Two sophomores are among the conference leaders in several categories. Antwan Wilson is seventh in scoring (15.3 average), tied for sixth in blocks (0.9 average) and 10th in steals (1.4 average). Handy Toussaint is ninth in rebounds (6.7 average) and ninth in field goal percentage (51.2). 

"I feel in JUCO you are fielding a brand-new team every year, so you have to instill in the players the work ethic and expectations you have as a coach," Lewis said. "There are different challenges that will arise throughout the year but if the guys can stay together and keep their focus on the goals we have then that can overcome any adversity that we might face." 

Lewis is 77-42 in his three-plus seasons as the Coyotes' head coach and the team is seeking a third consecutive 20-win season.