Charger Advance to NJCAA Quarterfinals with Win
Danville, IL – Ancilla College built big advantages early in each half, but needed heroics in the second half to advance in the National Junior College Athletic Association Men’s Division II Basketball Tournament with a 71-64 victory over Southern Arkansas Tech University Wednesday afternoon.
The Chargers (14-1) escaped the first half with a 25-24 advantage after leading by as many as 10 points. In the second half they built a 13 point advantages and saw it start to crumble. Sophomore reserve Keith Rupert had other ideas. After Brock Cosey went 3 of 4 at the line to put Ancilla up four with a little over a minute left, Rupert took over. The sophomore reserve hit a soft 15-foot jumper and then buried six straight free throws to put the game away. Rupert had a key steal and a rebound in those 60 seconds and finished with 11 points.
Freshman reserve Jakylen Thomas led the Chargers with 16 points, with Marco Beverly adding 12 points before fouling out.
Ancilla had trouble with the taller Rockets (17-5), but made the most of it by attacking the basket and heading to the free throw line. The team went 30-40 from the line with Thomas connecting on 5 of 5 and Beverly converting six of eight. Rico Swanson Jr. made five of six free throws and he had four assists. Cortney Shorter and Caleb Brown, like Beverly, were slowed with foul problems all game, but made their presence felt on the defensive end.
Free throws kept Ancilla in the game in the first half. They converted 10 of 15 charity tosses, compared to 2 of 5 for the Rockets. SAU was better from the field, especially late in the half. The two teams went 1 of 31 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. Ancilla finished the game 5-27 from long range and the rockets were 0-23.
Ancilla will meet Garrett College from McHenry, MD Thursday at 9 p.m. eastern. The Lakers are 15-0 on the season and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 76-59 win over Richland College in the first game of the tournament on Tuesday morning.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NJCAA Division II National Tournament
Ancilla College 71 Southern Arkansas 64
At Danville, IL
Southern Arkansas Tech University (64): Kon Chol 1-3 0-1 2, Donovan Vickers 4-13 4-4 12, Allen Taylor 9-24 6-10 24, Ronnie Stapp 1-7 4-6 6, Treyon Johnson 0-3 0-1 0, Makeem Loudermill 2-3 0-0 4, Christian Tyler 3-10 0-2 6, Cameron Akins 3-6 2-4 8, Terry Holmes 0-1 0-0 0, Brayden Lyons 1-1 0-0 2, Great Nwachukwu 0-0 0-0 0. Team totals: 24-71 16-27 64.
ANCILLA (71): Jalen Fountain 0-2 0-0 0, Rico Swanson, Jr. 1-8 5-6 7, Jakylen Thomas 5-14 5-5 16, Brady Powers 0-0 0-0 0, Cortney Shorter 2-9 4-5 9, Marco Beverly 2-4 6-8 12, Keith Rupert 2-5 6-6 11, Shak Johnson 1-3 1-2 3, Caleb Brown 2-7 0-2 4, Brock Cosey 3-10 3-6 9. Team totals 18-62 30-40 71.
Halftime: Ancilla 25-24. 3-pts: Ancilla 5-27 (Shorter 1-5, Beverly 2-3, Brown 0-2, Cosey 0-6, Fountain 0-2, Thomas 1-6, Rupert 1-3), SAU 0-23 (Choi 0-2, Vickers 0-8, Taylor 0-3, Stapp 0-3, Tyler 0-4, Holmes 0-1, Akins 0-2). Rebounds: Ancilla 47 (Swanon, Jr. 9), SAU 52 (Vickers 13). Assists: Ancilla 9 (Swanson, Jr. 4), SAU 7 (Vickers 4). Turnovers: Ancilla 17, SAU 17. Fouls (Fouled out): SAU 28 (Chol), Ancilla 24 (Shorter, Beverly)). Records: Ancilla 13-1. Southern Arkansas 17-5.
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