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Posted: Apr 02, 2024

Region 4 boasts pair of NJCAA men's basketball runners-up with Triton, South Suburban

(Images courtesy of NJCAA.org)
(Images courtesy of NJCAA.org)

HUTCHINSON, KANS., DANVILLE, ILL., & HERKIMER, N.Y. - The 2023-24 season will go down as a banner year for Region 4 men's basketball after not one, but two teams made their way to a national championship game and the region saw representation in all three national tournaments. Triton College lost 88-73 to Barton Community College in the NJCAA Division I Championship one week after South Suburban suffered a similar fate with an 84-79 setback to National Park College in the NJCAA Division II Championship. Defending Division II national champion Milwaukee Area Technical College reached the fifth place game in Danville, while Joliet Junior College went 1-1 at the NJCAA Division III National Tournament.

As the #7 seed at the The Tournament, Triton College earned a first round bye and then exploded for a 105-87 win over #10-seed Trinity Valley Community College in the second round. In the quarterfinals against #2-seed South Plains College, the Trojans knocked down some clutch free throws to secure an 88-87 upset win. Part of the national semifinals for the second time in three years and looking for its first title since winning a Division II championship in 2018, Triton College built a 51-37 lead at halftime and held off #19 Connors State College by an 87-84 final to clinch a spot in the national title game. Playing to a sold out crowd and a national television audience on ESPNU, the Trojans went toe-to-toe with the top-seeded Cougars before succumbing to an 88-73 defeat. Coach Brian Burns and his team were awarded the Charles Sesher Sportsmanship Award. Sophomore guard Dylan Williams was named the Bud Obee Outstanding Small Player Award winner, while second year guard Amar Augillar and freshman guard AJ Dixon were selected to the All-Tournament Team. (Recaps: NJCAA | Triton) 

Region 4 boasts the past two national champions at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, and both were on hand again in 2024. Sixth-seeded Milwaukee Area Technical College and #2-seed South Suburban College both received first round byes, and both were victorious in their second round contests. The Stormers took down #11-seed Iowa Lakes Community College by a 90-73 final and the Bulldogs secured an 86-79 win over #18-seed Florida State-Jacksonville. The quarterfinal round brought an epic showdown between MATC-Milwaukee and #3-seed Ellsworth Community College. Milwaukee Tech overcame a 17-point halftime deficit with 66 second half points to force overtime, but ultimately Ellsworth handed the Stormers a 121-113 defeat. The loss dropped the Stormers into the 5th Place Bracket, where they upended #13-seed North Central Missouri College with a 92-85 decision, and completed their tournament with an 87-77 loss against #8-seed Des Moines Area Community College in the fifth place game. 

South Suburban College, meanwhile, reached the national semifinals with a 79-70 victory over #7-seed Parkland College. The Bulldogs, who won the school's first national title in 2022, got past Ellsworth with an 89-75 decision to return to the title game for the second time in three years. A pair of Jemel Jones free throws put SSC up 67-66 with 7:37 to play, however, six straight points by #5-seed National Park College eventually led to an 84-79 final. Jones, a second year guard, was joined on the All-Tournament Team by sophomore guard Julius Byrd and freshman forward Quentin Heady, as well as MATC-Milwaukee's sophomore guard/forward Sheldon Williams-Dryden. (Recaps: NJCAA)

And in Herkimer, New York, Joliet Junior College began their Division III National Tournament appearance against #6-seed Minnesota North College-Rainy River, with the #11-seed Wolves losing their first round game, 70-61. Joliet Junior College took advantage of the ability to play a consolation game, and left the east coast with a 92-88 overtime win over #7-seed Prince George's Community College.