Eagles arrive in Hutchinson ahead of NJCAA Tournament
HUTCHINSON, Kansas (March 18, 2023) — TCC Men's Basketball arrived in Hutchinson, Kansas on Saturday afternoon ahead of the NJCAA Division I Tournament which begins on Monday, March 20. The Eagles take on the #21 Trinidad State Trojans on Monday night at 8:30 PM CDT in the final game of the first day.
Trinidad State enters the tournament on a 19-game winning streak, and sits at 23-7 overall. They defeated Casper College 78-77 in the Region IX Championship, securing the automatic bid for the Northwest Plains District. The Trojans are led by sophomore guard Dejour Reaves who averages 23.3 points per game. Reaves has scored 20+ points in his last seven games, and has recorded 10 field goals in six of those seven. He is supported offensively by another sophomore guard, Jailen Bedford, who is averaging 16.6 points per game. Keliese Frye is the only Trinidad State starter listed as a forward. The 6'5" freshman is the tallest of the Trojan starters, and is averaging 9.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He scored 18 points in the Region IX Championship.
Monday's game will be the first-ever matchup between Tallahassee and Trinidad State. The winner will play #5 Salt Lake Community College on Wednesday at 2:00 PM CDT.
This is TCC's fourth trip to Hutchinson, and the fifth time that the Eagles have qualified for the tournament (2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). In 2006, TCC reached the NJCAA Championship Game, where they lost to the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith 68-59.
Looking back at the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament
TCC had a great showing at the Region 8 Tournament in Niceville, Florida last weekend, advancing to the championship game where they narrowly fell to Northwest Florida State. Okechukwu Okeke (F/C, Soph.), Malachi Davis (G, Soph.), and Addison Patterson (G, Soph.) were named to the All-Tournament team for their performances. Patterson was also named to the All-FCSAA team for his regular season accomplishments.
Northwest Florida State secured an automatic bid to the national tournament by winning the Region 8 Championship, but Chipola and TCC both received at-large bids, marking the first time ever that three Panhandle Conference Men's Basketball teams will compete in the same national tournament.
How to follow the Eagles in Hutch
The first four rounds of the tournament will be streamed on the NJCAA Network. For $10, fans are able to stream all games in a given day of the tournament. For $30, you gain access to the entire tournament, besides Saturday's championship game, which will be televised on ESPNU.
For fans making the trip to Kansas, tickets can be purchased here. For live Twitter updates from each of the games, follow @TCCEagles.