Knights’ national title hopes dashed
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Was it a great season? Absolutely. The only trouble is, someone has to end the year with a loss.
Mott Community College (Flint, MI) won its fourth NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship in program history Saturday night in Danville, IL with a 70-60 win over the Community College of Rhode Island.
The Bears, who were ranked No. 1 for the majority of the regular season, took a 29-23 lead at halftime and expanded it to double digits. MCC was comfortably out in front of the Knights for nearly the entire second half.
Tournament MVP John Taylor led the Bears with 23 points and six assists, while Ralph Eason added 22 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Mott’s four Division II national championships are the most of any college in men’s basketball. The Bears end the season at 35-1.
CCRI was led by Desmond Williams’ 16 points and six rebounds. He was instrumental in getting the Knights to the title game for the first time in school history by scoring 41 points in CCRI’s overtime win over Lakeland Community College (Ohio) in the semifinals. The Knights end their 2012 campaign at 31-5.
All-Tournament Team
Sean Farr – Baltimore City Community College
Justin Leathers – Johnson County Community College
Michael Craig – South Mountain College
Bryce Walker – South Suburban College
Dequan Jones – Erie Community College
Shea Sumpter – Danville Area Community College
Antonio Robinson – Louisburg College
Chaz Rollins – Lakeland Community College
Rogerio Livramento – Community College of Rhode Island
Darryl Marshall – Mott Community College
Desmond Williams – Community College of Rhode Island
Ralph Eason – Mott Community College
Tournament MVP
John Taylor – Mott Community College
Jack Cistriano Best Small Man Award
Bryce Walker – South Suburban College
Fred Pohlman Sportsmanship Award
Bryan Yarce – Community College of Rhode Island
Coach of the Tournament
Steve Schmidt – Mott Community College
Information from njcaa.org and mlive.com was used in this report
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