Staff Report
Joliet Junior College made a lasting impression on SUNY Delhi this past Saturday night.
The Wolves (28-5) won their first NJCAA Division III men's basketball championship in their third trip to the final with a 94-84 victory over Rochester Community and Technical College (Minn.).
The championship matchup marked the last NJCAA D-III tournament game at SUNY Delhi, which closed a 20-year run as host of the three-day event. Next season, the tournament will move to Sullivan County CC.
Lennell Pierce's three-pointer with 7 minutes, 54 seconds remaining capped a 21-2 run and help Joliet (Ill.) turn an eight-point deficit into a 71-60 lead. The Wolves stayed ahead the rest of the way.
A little more than five minutes earlier, Joliet seemed headed to its third loss in as many appearances in the national title game. Joliet earned runner-up finishes in each of its first two national finals, in 2005 and 2008.
David Fritsch hit a three with 13:24 to play, putting Rochester up, 58-50. Eleven seconds later, all-tournament selection Jon Bartlett of Joliet got his fourth foul and went to the bench.
Rochester's Kavon Martin missed the front end of the ensuing 1-and-1, setting up Pierce for a basket that made it 58-52 with 12:55 to go to start Joliet's rally.
The Yellowjackets (25-6) went scoreless until Brandon Milde pulled Rochester to 64-60 with 9:41 to go.
Joliet scored the next seven points, though, and maintained a cushion of at least five points the rest of the game.
Pierce finished with a team-high 21 points for Joliet, which received 19 points and nine rebounds from tournament MVP Brian Bradley. Bartlett contributed 16 points for Joliet, Andy Supergan had 15 and Patrick Devine scored 14.
Wolves coach Joe Kuhn earned Gary Cole Coach of the Tournament honors.
Milde finished with 23 points to lead Rochester, which received 17 points from Shiron Williams. All-tournament selection Demetrius Williams contributed 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Fritsch scored 11 points.
Bergen CC 108, Roxbury CC 101
All-tournament selection Elgin Brown had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Bergen CC (N.J.) to third place at the NJCAA Division III Tournament.
The Bulldogs (34-1) also received 18 points from Asmar Edwards and 17 from David West. Derrick Ross scored 16 points and Joshwell Hosang and Jimmy Schmitt had 14 apiece.
Jeffery Cannon finished with a game-high 32 points to lead Roxbury CC (Mass.), which finished fifth. All-tournament pick Ravon Dunbar scored 31 points for the Tigers (23-5), who received 11 points from Paris Amado.
Herkimer County 83, Sullivan County 76
Herkimer County CC led by 17 points in the second half and cruised to fourth place. All-tournament selection Akeem Ellis had 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead Herkimer (33-3).
Cliff Brown also scored 29 points for Herkimer, which made its first appearance in the tournament since winning the inaugural national title in 1991.
All-tournament pick Moses Dayee had 19 points for Sullivan (32-3), which placed sixth. Evan Pope contributed 19 points and Dwayne Wade had 14.
Mountain View 85, Davidson County 80
All-tournament selection Kevin Thomas had a team-high 19 points as Mountain View (Texas) overcame an early, 13-point deficit to take seventh place.
Jeffrey Ayisire had 14 points and Jeromie Ayisire contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Lions (23-13), who received 12 points from Wayne Staggers.
All-tournament pick Justin Glover scored a game-high 21 points to lead Davidson County CC (N.C.), which received 15 points from Roderick Geter. Phillip Williams and Zack Williams each finished with 12 points and Eric Potts had 10 points for the Storm (29-7).
