NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Emani Gant scored 19 points, Cameron Naylor added 15 and eighth-seeded Texas State opened the Sun Belt Conference tournament Thursday with a 68-62 upset of fifth-seeded Texas-Arlington.
Wesley Davis and Ethan Montalvo added 11 points apiece for the Bobcats (14-16), who earned a matchup with fourth-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Jamel Outler had 15 points and Anthony Walker and Lonnie McClanahan had 12 points and 7 rebounds each for the Mavericks (16-15), who made 12 of 13 free throws in the second half but were just 3 of 16 on 3-pointers.
Texas State, which had never won a Sun Belt tournament game before, led 33-29 at the half and stretched that to 54-42 on a Montalvo jumper at 8:53. Then the Mavericks went on a 12-0 run to tie the game on a Kevin Hervey jumper with 5:28 to play. But after that they went 0-8 from the field and Nayor’s consecutive three-point plays and dunk secured the upset.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Ethan Montalvo hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points as Texas State clobbered cold-shooting South Alabama 63-43 on Wednesday night.
With the win, Texas State (11-10, 5-7 Sun Belt) has swept the season series and owns the tie-breaker on South Alabama (7-16, 5-7).
Nearly a third of the Bobcats’ made field goals (23) were 3-pointers as they hit eight from long range. They made a season-high 10 in their first meeting with South Alabama.
The Jaguars scored a season-low in points, held to 31-percent shooting (16-52), making just 4 of 16 from 3-point range and 7 of 12 from the line. Texas State’s defensive stopper Wes Davis was back in the lineup after injury.
Ken Williams led the Jaguars with nine points on 3 of 12 shooting.
JaMarcus Weatherspoon added 12 points for Texas State, which scored the first seven points and led by 18 at halftime.
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Emani Gant scored a career-high 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead Texas State to an 82-71 win over South Alabama on Thursday night.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury, who made 7 of 11 field-goal attempts, added a career-high 16 points for Texas State (10-5, 4-2 Sun Belt). Ethan Montalvo scored 14 and D.J. Brown 12.
Ken Williams hit a 3 with 18:10 left to pull South Alabama (4-12, 2-4) within three, but Montalvo hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 15-3 run which made it 55-41 about 5 minutes later.
The Jaguars trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
South Alabama shot 54 percent from the field and made nearly twice as many free throws (27) as Texas State attempted (15), but it wasn’t enough.
Texas State converted 15 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points and scored 26 off of 19 South Alabama turnovers.
ATLANTA (AP) — Emani Gant scored 11 of his 17 points in two overtime periods as Texas State upset Georgia State77-74 on Monday night.
Gant nailed a 3-point jumper as time expired in the first overtime to tie the game at 69. He made two straight jump shots in the second extra period and Kavin Gilder-Tilbury sank three free throws as the Bobcats ended Georgia State’s 18-game home court winning streak.
The Panthers, picked to win the Sun Belt Conference, held a 55-51 lead with 1:17 left in regulation. Ethan Montalvo and D.J. Brown nailed consecutive treys for the lead with 17 seconds remaining. Ryan Harrow drove for a layup to tie at 57 and send it to overtime.
Cameron Naylor had a career-high 18 points, Brown added 12 and Gilder-Tilbury and Montalvo had 11 apiece for Texas State (8-4, 2-1 Sun Belt).
Harrow had 29 points for Georgia State (9-5, 2-1).
North Platte – Ethan Montalvo and DaVontaye Merritt were both named to The World Herald’s All-Nebraska Junior College teams published by the Omaha World Herald over the weekend. Montalvo is joined by teammates Cameron Williams and Tim Simmons on the second-team along with Jake Maslo and Marco Pascolo as Honorable Mentions. Merritt is joined by Courtney Widick on the second-team along with Jordan Dickerson and April Stull as Honorable Mention.
The First-Team All-Nebraska selection for Ethan Montalvo, a sophomore from Omaha Bryan, adds to his long list of honors from the season. Montalvo was named an All-American Honorable Mention, All-Region IX, All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC. Montalvo averaged 18.9 ppg and is the Knights 5th All-Time leading scorer with 1,171 career points. Montalvo has signed to play basketball at Division I Texas State University next year.
Tim Simmons, a sophomore from Stamford, Conn., was named Second-Team All-Nebraska after averaging 11.8 points per game for the Knights and being their defensive stopper. Simmons was also named to the All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC Second-Team. Simmons is the Knights 40th All-Time leading scorer with 700 career points.
Cameron Williams, a freshman from Omaha South, was also named Second-Team All-Nebraska after averaging 13.7 points per game for the Knights. Williams was also named to the All-NCCAC First-Team. Williams scored 439 points during his freshman campaign.
Jake Maslo, a sophomore from Omaha Bryan, and Marco Pascolo, a freshman from Udine, Italy, were both named All-Nebraska Honorable Mention. Maslo averaged 6.5 points per game for the Knights while Pascolo scored 11.0 points per game.
DaVontaye Merritt, a sophomore from Plantation, Florida, was named First-Team All-Nebraska after averaging 16.0 points per game for the Lady Knights. Merritt was also named to the All-Region IX Division II Team, All-Region IX Division II Tournament Team and the All-NCCAC Team. Merritt is the Lady Knights 3rd All-Time leading scorer with 863 career points.
Courtney Widick, a sophomore from Brady, was named Second-Team All-Nebraska after averaging 9.5 points per game for the Lady Knights. Widick was also named to the All-Region IX Division II Team, All-Region IX Division II Tournament Team and the All-NCCAC Team. Widick is the Lady Knights 18th All-Time leading scorer with 570 career points.
Jordan Dickerson, a sophomore from Westminster, Colo., and April Stull, a freshman from Sweeney, Texas, were both named All-Nebraska Honorable Mention. Dickerson averaged 8.6 points per game for the Lady Knights while Stull scored 11.3 points per game.
North Platte – Sophomore Ethan Montalvo signed a National Letter of Intent Wednesday afternoon on National Signing Day with the Texas State University Bobcats, a NCAA Division I school located in San Marcos, Texas.
“It’s an awesome feeling to be signed to a D1 school,” said Montalvo. “My dreams have come true and I am really excited for the next two years to compete at the highest level.”
Montalvo was named to the 2013-14 Honorable Mention All-American Team earlier this week, becoming 8th player in program history to be named an All-American.
Along with being named an All-American, Montalvo was named All-Region IX 1st Team, All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC 1st Team. As a freshman, Montalvo was All-Region IX 2nd Team, All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC 1st Team.
Texas State University competes in the Sun Belt Conference where they finished the year 8-23 under first-year head coach Danny Kaspar.
“We are extremely excited to add someone the caliber of Ethan Montalvo to the Texas State Basketball family,” said assistant coach Talvin Hester. “We expect Ethan to make an immediate impact in our backcourt with his overall basketball skill set.”
“In addition, he brings a great attitude, high basketball IQ and a competitive edge to Bobcat Nation. He’s a winner. Ethan won in high school and at NPCC. We look forward to Ethan instilling some of that winning culture and attitude to our team next season.”
This season Montalvo led the Knights in scoring at 18.9 points per game and in steals at 2.2 per game while also contributing 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Montalvo finishes his career with 1,173 points to finish 5th All-Time and ties Chase Grabau, Ben Wilson and Aboubacar Casse for most games played in a Knights uniform at 68. Montalvo started every single game of his Knights career.
“We will miss Ethan Montalvo here in North Platte,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler “but we are very excited for him to continue his career at Texas State. The staff at Texas State has done a great job recruiting him and has made sure he knew he was their top priority at his position since September. We know that Ethan will have a very successful career as a Bobcat!”
Montalvo has been a part of the most successful two year stretch in program history as the Knights compiled a 57-11 record during his career, including a Region IX Championship in 2013 and National Tournament appearance. The 57 wins are the most in program history in a two year stretch and the 11 losses are the fewest. Montalvo has never known defeat at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium finishing a perfect 28-0 in two years, also a school record.
North Platte – Sophomore Ethan Montalvo was named to the 2013-14 Honorable Mention All-American Team on Tuesday afternoon. Montalvo becomes the 8th player in program history to be named an All-American.
“Ethan will go down as not only one of the school’s all-time great players,” said head coach Kevin O’Connor “but did so with character and class. His work ethic and desire helped him achieve great things as a Knight. He was a privilege to coach and will be hard to replace.”
Montalvo joins Glover Cody (1989-90), LeMont Daniels (1993-94), Doug Rogers (1996-97), Jason McDonald (1998-99), Donta Watson (2003-04), Eugene Bain (2008-09) and Joseph Ragland (2009-10) as All-Americans to wear a North Platte Knights uniform.
“I am extremely honored and blessed to be named an All-American,” said Montalvo. “I want to thank my teammates and coaches for helping me along the way. It is a perfect way to end my career at North Platte Community College.”
Along with being named an All-American, Montalvo was named All-Region IX 1st Team, All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC 1st Team. As a freshman, Montalvo was All-Region IX 2nd Team, All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC 1st Team.
This season Montalvo led the Knights in scoring at 18.9 points per game and in steals at 2.2 per game while also contributing 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Montalvo finishes his career with 1,173 points to finish 5th All-Time and ties Chase Grabau, Ben Wilson and Aboubacar Casse for most games played in a Knights uniform at 68. Montalvo started every single game of his Knights career.
Montalvo has been a part of the most successful two year stretch in program history as the Knights compiled a 57-11 record during his career, including a Region IX Championship in 2013 and National Tournament appearance. The 57 wins are the most in program history in a two year stretch and the 11 losses are the fewest. Montalvo has never known defeat at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium finishing a perfect 28-0 in two years, also a school record.
North Platte Community College sophomore guard for the men’s basketball team, Ethan Montalvo committed on Thursday to play at Texas State University.
Montalvo received interest from a number of NCAA Division I schools but made his decision after his visit to the campus in San Marcos, Texas.
Montalvo will go down as one of the greatest players in North Platte Knights history. He was named the Region IX South Sub-Region player of the year this past season to go along with being named to the Region IX First Team and the Region IX All-Tournament team. Montalvo finished his career at NPCC without ever losing at his home gym of McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on the South Campus of North Platte Community College with a 28-0 record. He also ranks fifth all-time on the Knights career scoring list with 1,173 points. Montalvo started every game of his Knights career and tied for the most games played in a Knights uniform at 68.
This past season Montalvo led the Knights to a second-place finish in the South Sub-Region of Region IX and to the semifinals of the Region IX Tournament. He led the team in scoring at 18.9 points per game. He also averaged 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
The Bobcats of Texas State University play in the Sunbelt Conference and finished with an 8-23 overall record this season. Montalvo will likely have opportunities to play against some of the nation’s top talent and top teams while in San Marcos. This past season the Bobcats played Texas out of the Big 12, Utah from the PAC 12 and Larry Brown’s SMU Mustangs.
North Platte – Ethan Montalvo, Cameron Williams and Tim Simmons of North Platte Community College (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) were all named to the 2013-14 Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) All-Conference Team on Thursday. Head coach Kevin O’Connor was also named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year.
Ethan Montalvo of Omaha was named All-NCCAC First Team and was the leading vote getter. The sophomore is the Knights leading scorer at 19.0 points per game. Montalvo leads the team in steals (2.2 spg) and is tied for first in assists (2.7 apg). He averages 2.3 three-pointers a game, making a team high 67 while shooting 39 percent behind the arc. Montalvo also leads the team in free throw percentage at 82 percent from the charity stripe.
Montalvo currently sits 6th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 1,116 points in his career. Montalvo is 30 points from cracking the top five and passing Jason McDonald. Montalvo was named All-NCCAC First Team for the second consecutive year.
Cameron Williams of Omaha was also named All-NCCAC First Team. The freshman is the Knights second leading scorer at 13.7 points per game. Williams is tied for first on the team in assists (2.7 apg) and is second in steals (1.5 spg). Williams shoots 45 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line. In his last outing, Williams scored a career-high 33 points in only 19 minutes of action to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
Tim Simmons of Stamford, Conn. was named All-NCCAC Second-Team after leading the Knights to the NCCAC Championship for the second consecutive season. The sophomore is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and has been at his best in the biggest moments during his career at North Platte. Simmons is third on the team in rebounds at 4.5 per game. Simmons leads the Knights in field goal percentage at 54 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the free throw line.
Simmons currently sit 49th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 660 career points. Simmons can move up the scoring list rapidly as the next 10 spots have scored under 700 career points.
Kevin O’Connor
Kevin O’Connor was named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Knights to their third consecutive NCCAC Championship and ninth in the last ten years. Coach O’Connor has won 15 conference championships in his 29 year career at North Platte Community College. He guided the Knights to a 25-4 regular season record and a 5-1 record in conference play. The 25 regular season wins is the second consecutive year of 25 wins and ties for third in program history with last year for a regular season trailing only the 1989-90 O’Connor coached team which finished the regular season 27-3 and the 1972-73 Doug Schakel coached team which finished the regular season 26-8.
NCCAC First-TeamNCCAC Second-Team
Ethan Montalvo- North Platte CC Tim Simmons- North Platte CC
Tyron Criswell- Central CC Riak Bol- Central CC
Tony Dobbinson- McCook CC David Plain- Central CC
Dominic Williams- McCook CC Tyrell Corlew- Southeast CC
Cameron Williams- North Platte CC (tie)
Josh Roberts- Southeast CC (tie)
NCCAC Honorable Mention
D’Andre Downey- McCook CC
Jarrod Gamble- Southeast CC
NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year
Kevin O’Connor- North Platte CC
North Platte – Ethan Montalvo, Cameron Williams and Tim Simmons of North Platte Community College (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) were all named to the 2013-14 Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) All-Conference Team on Thursday. Head coach Kevin O’Connor was also named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year. Ethan Montalvo of Omaha was named All-NCCAC First Team and was the leading vote getter. The sophomore is the Knights leading scorer at 19.0 points per game. Montalvo leads the team in steals (2.2 spg) and is tied for first in assists (2.7 apg). He averages 2.3 three pointers a game while make a team high 67 while shooting 39 percent behind the arc. Montalvo also leads the team in free throw percentage at 82 percent from the charity stripe. Montalvo currently sits 6th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 1,116 points in his career. Montalvo is 30 points from cracking the top five and passing Jason McDonald. Montalvo was named All-NCCAC First Team for the second consecutive year. Cameron Williams of Omaha was also named All-NCCAA First Team. The freshman is the Knights second leading scorer at 13.7 points per game. Williams is tied for first on the team in assists (2.7 apg) and is second in steals (1.5 spg). Williams shoots 45 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line. In his last outing, Williams scored a career-high 33 points in only 19 minutes of action to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Tim Simmons of Stamford, Conn. was named All-NCCAC Second-Team after leading the Knights to the NCCAC Championship for the second consecutive season. The sophomore is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and has been at his best in the biggest moments during his career at North Platte. Simmons is third on the team in rebounds at 4.5 per game. Simmons leads the Knights in field goal percentage at 54 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the free throw line. Simmons currently sit 49th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 660 career points. Simmons can move up the scoring list rapidly as the next 10 spots have scored under 700 career points. Kevin O’Connor was named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Knights to their third consecutive NCCAC Championship and nine in the last ten years. Coach O’Connor has won 15 conference championships in his 29 year career at North Platte Community College. He guided the Knights to a 25-4 regular season record and a 5-1 record in conference play. The 25 regular season wins is the second consecutive year of 25 wins and ties for third in program history with last year for a regular season trailing only the 1989-90 O’Connor coached team which finished the regular season 27-3 and the 1972-73 Doug Schakel coached team which finished the regular season 26-8. NCCAC First-TeamNCCAC Second-Team Ethan Montalvo– North Platte CC Tim Simmons– North Platte CC Tyron Criswell- Central CC Riak Bol- Central CC Tony Dobbinson- McCook CC David Plain- Central CC Dominic Williams- McCook CC Tyrell Corlew- Southeast CC Cameron Williams– North Platte CC (tie) Josh Roberts- Southeast CC (tie) NCCAC Honorable Mention D’Andre Downey- McCook CC Jarrod Gamble- Southeast CC NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year Kevin O’Connor– North Platte CC
