Eagles come back against Dodge City, reach NJCAA Semifinals

HUTCHINSON, Kansas (March 24, 2023) – TCC Men's Basketball's magical run in the NJCAA Tournament will continue into the semifinal round after the Eagles defeated Dodge City Community College 75-69. TCC takes on John A. Logan in the semifinals on Friday at 5:00 PM CDT, with a spot in the National Championship Game on the line. The other semifinal features Panhandle foe Northwest Florida State and Indian Hills, who entered the tournament as the #7 and #6 seed, respectively. 

The Eagles trailed for the entirety of the first half. Within the first minute, the Conquistadors had knocked down their first three. Later in the first half, TCC's starting point guard Isaiah Cathey went down with an elbow injury after a scrap for a loose ball. He did not return. 

Dodge City was able to space the floor and knock down shots early on, and then stymy TCC's offensive efforts on the other end. They led by four at the end of the first half. TCC has trailed in all three NJCAA Tournament games going into the break. 

The Eagles shot just 36.7% from the field in the first half and went 2-for-10 on three-point attempts. Although they never found a rhythm from deep, they were able to generate offense in the paint in the second half. Malachi Davis (G, Soph.) scored 17 points in the second half, and only had two three-point attempts.

Davis, who joined the Eagles' starting lineup at this tournament after spending most of the season as the sixth man, had another historic postseason game. Through three games in the tournament, he's averaging 37.3 points. He is 47 points shy of the all-time scoring record in the NJCAA Tournament. 

The TCC record for most points in a postseason game was 32 going into this season, set by Bootsy Thornton. Through six postseason games, Davis has topped that number on three occasions. 

Okechukwu Okeke (F/C, Soph.) played just 14 minutes in Thursday's contest, but he made the most of them. He finished with 11 points, shooting 5-for-6 from the field. He also recorded two blocks. A crucial play came with 10:27 left in the second half, when Kenney Gaines (G, Soph.) grabbed a defensive rebound and quickly brought it up the floor to find Okeke for a thunderous alley-oop dunk. Okeke was fouled on the play and converted from the free throw line to make it a one possession game with Dodge City leading 52-49. 

The two teams went back and forth for the final 10 minutes, but it was another strong finish by TCC, led in large part by Davis's offensive efforts. His layup with 22 seconds left extended the Eagles' lead to four and brought his scoring total for the day to 33. 

Another Eagles' guard didn't have a great shooting night, but his contributions were felt on both ends of the floor. Ja'Quavian Florence (G, Soph.) finished 1-for-11 shooting, but did end up with seven points. He knocked down all five of his free throw attempts. But where Florence's impact was felt most was on the defensive end. He brought in nine rebounds, eight of which were defensive, and recorded two steals and a block. 

Tom Mark (F, Soph.) has a knack for protecting the rim and picked up three blocks in Thursday's quarterfinal matchup. In eight of his last nine games, he has tallied exactly three rejections. The one game where he didn't reach three, he had two. To go along with his blocks, Mark scored 10 points, and recorded six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. 

Mark also threw down an emphatic dunk right before the buzzer sounded, putting an exclamation mark on what was another dramatic game at the NJCAA Tournament. 

This is only the third time TCC has reached the NJCAA Tournament semifinals. In 2006, they reached the National Championship Game, losing to the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. They are now 31-5 on the season.