February 28, 2008 --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4 SMC Basketball Players Receive Region X Honors

Erica Caldwell	Markesha Smith	Brendon Knox	Kendrick Robinson

WILMINGTON, NC – Four Spartanburg Methodist College basketball players received regional honors Wednesday night for their performance in the 2007-2008 season. 

At the National Junior College Athletic Association's Region X Tournament banquet held at Cape Fear Community College, SMC’s Erica Caldwell, a sophomore from Columbia, SC,was named Region X Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. 

Caldwell averaged 25 in points, while shooting 64 percent from the free throw line, 50 percent from the field, and 45 percent from the three-point line during the 2007-2008 season. 

She, along with with teammate Markesha Smith, a sophomore from Clemson, SC, was also named to the Region X Women’s Basketball 1st Team All-Region. 

The women’s team closed the regular season with its best record in more than five years (19-10, 15-3). They have a two-game bye and will only have to play two games to win the women’s tournament. 

They will play at 1 pm Saturday against either Clinton Junior College or the winner of the Denmark Technical College – Brunswick Community College game. 

On the men’s side, Brendon Knox, a sophomore from Georgetown, SC, was named to the Region X Men’s Basketball 2nd Team All-Region. Kendrick Robinson, a sophomore from Goose Creek, SC, was named to the Region X Men’s Basketball 3rd Team All-Region. 

Knox and Robinson helped lead their team to its best season record in seven years (22-7, 14-5) and a No. 2 seeding in the Region X tournament. The men’s team plays its first game of the tournament tonight at 6 pm against Roanoke-Chowan Community College. 

“This has been the best season for SMC basketball in several years,” says SMC Athletic Director Mark Perdue.

“Our men and women have played their hearts out and shown true sportsmanship. We’re very proud of what they’ve accomplished this season. Now, it’s time to bring home the region titles,” adds Perdue. 

Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The College is in its 97th year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning. 

For more information, contact head men’s basketball coach Rob Burke at (864) 237-8811 or head women’s basketball coach Ralph Patin at (803) 309-5539. 

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