PRESTON, England — The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) season finally gets under way in America amidst the pandemic after being pushed back until 2021, meaning a host of Myerscough Basketball alumni will be either making their collegiate debuts or getting back to work.
Lewis McGlasson, Sanmi Fajana and Sam Chigbo — all from the Class of 2020 — tip off a pair of Region XIV Conference games with Blinn College starting on Wednesday, Jan. 20 against Victoria College before travelling to Kilgore College on Saturday. The Buccaneers are coming off a strong 2019-20 season, falling in the NJCAA Region Championships.
It’s a busy week, meanwhile, for Samuel Keita (CoLA Class of 2019/Myerscough Class of 2019), who starts his season with the Salt Lake Community College Tournament. Keita transferred to the No. 7 ranked Bruins programme in the offseason following a year at Casper College.
Salt Lake will host Northwest College, Layton Christian Prep and Colorado Northwestern CC beginning Thursday. The Bruins, who went 29-4 overall in 2019-20 and reached the NJCAA Nationals after winning the District I Playoff, starts their season Friday versus Layton.
Celina Eisenhardt (Class of 2020) gets her collegiate career going with Murray State College, who are playing at the Jacksonville Classic in Jacksonville, Texas. The Aggies take on Blinn College on Friday, Jan. 22 and Jacksonville College the following day.
Sophomore guard/forward Kyra Smith will be back on court with Tallahassee Community College on Saturday, Jan. 23 against Indian River State College. Smith started all 26 games for the Eagles last season, where she averaged 8.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in just over 31 minutes.
At the NCAA Division I level, Edoardo Del Cadia has started the last four games for UNLV and averaged 16.5 minutes and chipped in a total of 12 points and 21 rebounds in that stretch. The Rebels — winners of Game 1 — finish off a two-game home series with New Mexico tonight.
Milly Knowles and Eastern Washington look to keep their four-game win streak alive when they hit the court against Northern Colorado on Thursday, Jan. 21 in the first of two games against the Golden Bears. Game 2 is on Saturday. The Eagles haven’t played since Jan. 9 with their last two games having been cancelled due to COVID-19.
Drexel is off until Jan. 30 after its road trip to Elon was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Mate Okros, however, is coming off a career day against William & Mary where he scored 17 points and hit five 3-pointers. The Dragons dropped the contest 69-64 though.
Callan Low is set for two games with Newberry, which is coming off a 73-66 win over Tusculum University. The Wolves host Limestone University on Wednesday, Jan. 20 before heading to UVA Wise on Saturday.
Ben Gordos anxious awaits his turn as he has seen the first of Concordia’s three games cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols. The Cougars are not in action again until Jan. 29 when they welcome Benedictine University for a pair of games.
Schedule for week commencing Jan. 18 (All times GMT):
Edoardo Del Cadia, UNLV: Jan 18 vs. New Mexico (1:30 a.m.), Jan. 21 vs. Benedictine Mesa (12 a.m.)
Milly Knowles, Eastern Washington: Jan. 21 vs. Northern Colorado (2:05 a.m.), Jan. 23 vs. Northern Colorado (8:05 p.m.)
Callan Low, Newberry College: Jan. 20 vs. Limestone (1 a.m.), UVA Wise (11:30 p.m.)
Sam Keita, Salt Lake CC: Jan. 22 vs. Layton (2 a.m.), Jan. 23 vs. Northwest College (8 p.m.)
Lewis McGlasson/Sam Chigbo/Sanmi Fajana, Blinn College: Jan. 20 vs. Victoria College (1 a.m.), Jan. 23 at Kilgore College (10 p.m.)
Celina Eisenhardt, Murray State College: Jan. 22 vs. Blinn College (10 p.m.), Jan. 23 vs. Jacksonville College (10 p.m.)
Kyra Smith, Tallahassee CC: Jan. 23 vs. Indian River State College (4 p.m.)