Virginia Peninsula Community College and Joliet Junior College were so evenly matched Sunday that 40 minutes weren’t enough to decide a winner. Forty-five minutes weren’t enough, either. It took 50.
Despite their best efforts, the Gators lost 92-88 in double overtime in the NJCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic District championship game played at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
“One thing’s for certain, we fought from start to finish,” said Gators coach Chris Moore. “The thing I kept telling the guys is you’ve got to keep believing, and this group believed.”
Joliet, out of Illinois, earned the district’s automatic bid to the NJCAA national tournament in Herkimer, N.Y., on March 11-14. Joliet is 15-11 and received votes in the most recent NJCAA national poll. VPCC (22-7 and ranked 11th) is hoping to receive one of four at-large bids when the 12-team field is announced Wednesday, March 4, at 6 p.m.
“Our bid is in the NJCAA’s hands,” Moore said. “I wanted it for (the players). We did what we were supposed to do.”
The Gators, who were on a 12-game winning streak, opened the scoring on a three-point play by Cameron Taylor (Phoebus High School), fell behind 8-3 then went on an 11-2 run for a 14-10 lead. They stretched the lead to 23-17 with 7 ½ minutes to go in the first half before the Wolves closed the first 20 minutes on a 18-10 surge for a 35-33 lead. The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes.
The second half was much of the same with five ties and two lead changes. The Gators trailed 72-65 with 3:49 left but came out strong after the last media timeout. Ky’Saan Bevier (Weldon, N.C.) hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 24 seconds left to tie the game at 76. After Joliet missed a potential game-winning shot, a nearly halfcourt heave at the buzzer by the Gators was off the mark, forcing the first overtime.
In the first extra five-minute session, which had two more ties and three more lead changes, the Gators missed a 3-pointer with a few seconds remaining, setting the stage for a second overtime. The Gators scored first in the second extra session, but the Wolves were leading by three when Moore called a timeout with 16.4 seconds left. Bevier had a good look on a 3 from the right corner, but the shot didn’t fall. Joliet closed the scoring with a free throw.
Jordan Watlington (Menchville) led the Gators with 23 points, Chris Cyrus (Hampton Christian Academy) had 17, Emmanuel Angila (Kempsville) and Dominique Fields Jr. (Indian River) 11 each, and Jakobe Reed (Woodside) 10.
“It’s tough,” Moore said of the loss. “But the one thing that I tell them all the time is tough times don’t last, tough people do. We have to take this and we all have to learn from it. As long as you use this, I won’t call it a loss, this lesson as a building block, we’ll all continue to get better for the next opportunity.”
That could come in the NJCAA national tournament if they earn an at-large bid.
For more information on VPCC athletics, visit www.vpccgators.com.