NJCAA 2010 DIV I BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MARCH 16, 2010

MARCH 16-20-2010
NJCAA DIVISION I MEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Tournament Location: Hutchinson, Kansas
Tournament Director: Jerry Ricksecker
20 Compound Drive
PO Box 1907
Hutchinson, KS 67504-1907
Office: 620-662-3331 / Fax: 620-662-9978 / Email: jlr@martindell-law.com
NJCAA Representative: Randy Stange

Tournament Website: http://www.njcaabbtrny.org/home/homepage.htm

All 26 games from the tournament will be video streamed LIVE and will be
available to view via archive on NJCAA TV.

District Champions/National Tournament Qualifiers
District 1: College of Eastern Utah
District 2: Connors State College, Okla.
District 3: Monroe College, N.Y.
District 4: Three Rivers Community College, Mo.
District 5: Howard College, Texas
District 6: Butler Community College, Kan.
District 7: Walters State Community College, Tenn.
District 8: Northwest Florida State College
District 9: North Platte Community College, Neb.
District 10: Brunswick Community College, N.C.
District 11: Southeastern Community College, Iowa
District 12: Wallace State Community College - Hanceville, Ala.
District 13: Middle Georgia College
District 14: Navarro College, Texas
District 15: East Mississippi Community College
District 16: Southeastern Illinois College

Comeback Hawks! - Howard Rallies to win 2010 DI Men's Basketball Championship

March 21, 2010

Howard rallies for the second straight night to deliver school's first national title in men's hoops

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- Howard College (Texas) provided NJCAA basketball fans with a memorable comeback for the second straight day as the Hawks erased a 10 point deficit to force overtime and defeat Three Rivers Community College (Mo.) 85-80 in the title game of the 2010 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Saturday night at Hutchinson’s Sports Arena.

One night after clawing back from a 16 point deficit with just four minutes to play against College of Eastern Utah, Howard head coach Mark Adams and his Hawks trailed the Raiders nearly the entire game but mounted a frenzied comeback. Down 65-55 with less than five minutes to go, thanks in part to very poor shooting from the Hawks (25 percent), Howard staged a 16-5 run thanks to great play from guards Josh Watkins (#23 left) and Lamont Austin.

A tip-in by Jae Crowder at the buzzer almost gave Howard the title at the end of regulation, but the basket came just after the horn sounded.

The Hawks stunned Three Rivers with a 6-1 run to start overtime and never trailed, hanging on for the 85-80 victory.

Crowder had 27 points and 12 rebounds in the win as was named to the all-tournament team. Watkins, who sparked the comeback in both the title game and the semifinal win over CEU, was named the tournament MVP. He tallied 26 points and seven rebounds in the title game and averaged 19.8 points over the tourney.

Marquise Carter of Three Rivers had a game-high 35 points in the loss.

Howard's defense was key to the comeback on both Friday and Saturday. The Hawks forced six Eastern Utah turnovers in the final four minutes in the comeback over CEU and caused several turnovers on Three Rivers on Saturday.

Howard set a record for fewest turnovers in the 63 year history of the NJCAA tournament with less than seven a game.

Photos by Andrew Carpenter and Maria Brockman of Hutchinson Community College Sports Information.

view photos from the tournament at www.andrewjcarpenterphotography.com

Archive Video Webcast at www.njcaa.org/tv

National Championship Results \| 2009-2010
BOX SCORES FOR ALL GAMES TUESDAY, MARCH 16 GAME 1: NORTHWEST FLA. STATE COLLEGE DEF. SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, IOWA, 81-77 GAME 2: THREE RIVERS COMMUNITY COLLEGE, MO. DEF. MONROE COLLEGE, N.Y., 81-69 GAME 3: EAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE DEF. BRUNSWICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE, N.C., 86-65 GAME 4: NAVARRO COLLEGE, TEXAS DEF. MIDDLE GEORGIA COLLEGE, 66-65 GAME 5: COLLEGE OF EASTERN UTAH DEF. NORTH PLATTE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, NEB., 71-62 GAME 6: WALLACE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE - HANCEVILLE, ALA. DEF. BUTLER COMMUNITY COLLEGE, KAN., 84-81 *WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17* GAME 7: WALTERS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TENN. DEF. CONNORS STATE COLLEGE, OKLA., 93-84 (OT) GAME 8: HOWARD COLLEGE, TEXAS DEF. SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS COLLEGE, 73-61 GAME 9: MONROE DEF. SOUTHEASTERN (24-12), 66-59 GAME 10 (QUARTERFINALS): THREE RIVERS DEF. NW FLA. STATE 83-73 GAME 11 (QUARTERFINALS) - NAVARRO DEF. EAST MISSISSIPPI, 72-58 *THURSDAY, MARCH 18* GAME 12: MIDDLE GEORGIA DEF. BRUNSWICK (23-12), 85-80 GAME 13 - NORTH PLATTE DEF. BUTLER (29-5), 80-70 GAME 14 - SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS DEF. CONNORS STATE (30-4), 65-64 GAME 15 - NW FLA. STATE DEF. EAST MISSISSIPPI (27-7), 77-75 GAME 16 (QUARTERFINALS): EASTERN UTAH DEF. WALLACE STATE, 82-66 GAME 17 (QUARTERFINALS): HOWARD DEF. WALTERS STATE, 72-56 *FRIDAY, MARCH 19* GAME 18: MONROE DEF. MIDDLE GEORGIA (29-5), 77-71 GAME 19: SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS DEF. NORTH PLATTE (28-6), 64-61 GAME 20: WALLACE STATE DEF. WALTERS STATE (22-10), 69-62 GAME 21 (SEMIFINALS): THREE RIVERS DEF. NAVARRO, 76-68 GAME 22 (SEMIFINALS: HOWARD DEF. EASTERN UTAH, 68-64 *SATURDAY, MARCH 20* 7^TH/8^TH PLACE GAME MONROE (29-8) DEF. SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS (24-11), 74-70 5^TH/6^TH PLACE GAME WALLACE STATE (32-5) DEF. NORTHWEST FLA. STATE (30-5), 64-61 3^RD/4^TH PLACE GAME EASTERN UTAH (27-10) DEF. NAVARRO (30-7), 65-61 (OT) CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HOWARD (33-2) DEF. THREE RIVERS (30-7), 85-80 (OT) ALL - TOURNAMENT TEAM MICHAEL GLOVER, EASTERN UTAH JONATHAN MILLS - EASTERN UTAH JOSH TERRY, THREE RIVERS MARQUIS CARTER, THREE RIVERS. JAE CROWDER, HOWARD BRIAN BRYANT, NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE L.A. FARMER, WALLACE STATE CARL HALL, MIDDLE GEORGIA MATT PRESSEY, NAVARRO DORIAN THIBODEAUX, NAVARRO DEONTE ALEXANDER, EAST MISSISSIPPI WILLIAM KIRKSEY, SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS BUD OBEE OUTSTANDING SMALL PLAYER AWARD JOE RAGLAND, NORTH PLATTE CHARLES SESHER SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NICK NIEMCZYK, THREE RIVERS WILLIAM FRENCH MOST VALUABLE PLAYER JOSH WATKINS, HOWARD COACH OF THE TOURNAMENT MARK ADAMS, HOWARD