JAMESTOWN – Compete. That is the one word that Jamestown Community College men's basketball head coach Xavier Churnac has echoed to his team heading into the NJCAA Region 3 Division II Semifinals.

"We have to go out there and compete," Churnac said. "We caught Niagara County off guard the last time we played and we can't expect that to happen again. We are going to have to bring it and be even better than the last time we played. It's playoff basketball, everybody is going to be motivated to come out and play."

The Jayhawks finished with a 1-8 region record with their lone win coming against Erie Community College back in December. They have been in games until the end where they have lost by no more than two possessions against Niagara County Community College and Monroe Community College.

The No. 4 seeded Jayhawks will face No. 1 seed Niagara County Community College, who finished with a perfect 9-0 record in the region. In the first two meetings of the season, the Thunderwolves won by a big margin but in their final meeting of the regular season, JCC fell by a five-point margin.

JCC will look to sophomores Traden Gray (Frewsburg, NY/Frewsburg HS), Gonzalo Luque (Madrid, Spain/Instituto Ortega y Gasset), and Elgin Oliver (Pittsburgh, PA/Gateway Senior HS) to get the team off to a fast start.

"Traden, Gonzalo, and Elgin need to be on the floor for us," said Churnac. "We need not to get in foul trouble and avoid any injuries that may happen. A lot of our offense comes from those guys, getting good shots and cutting down on the turnovers."

With the familiar faces that need to come bring it, coach Churnac will be looking to freshmen Jalyn Moorehead (Rochester, NY/Southerland HS), Nkosinathi Dlamini (Dirban, South Africa/St. Charles College), Josiah Diaz (Patucket, RI/Springfield Commonwealth Academy), and sophomore Josiah Ransom (Birmingham, AL/Helena HS).

"Jalyn needs to hit some big shots for us and Nkosinathi has been solid on the defensive end for us," Churnac said. "I will also be looking at both the Josiah's to come in and give us quality minutes. Ransom will bring the energy for us and Diaz needs to finish around the rim and get the rebounds. If those guys can do that, I like our chances."

The Jayhawks have been led offensively by Gray, Luque and Oliver who are averaging just over 10 points per game. Ransom and Moorehead have contributed to the offense, averaging eight points per contest. On the glass, Gray and Luque lead the way with seven rebounds per game.

As a team, JCC have scored 64.4 points per game while grabbing 40.7 rebounds per game.

The Thunderwovles will bring a 26-1 regular season record in the postseason with their lone loss coming in early January. NCCC has three players averaging double-digits with Lamar Lovelace leading the way with 14.4 points per game.

As a team, the Thunderwolves average 85.1 points per game while grabbing 41.5 rebounds per game.

The team will play tomorrow, February 25th, at 3 p.m.