The final game of the season for the Virginia Peninsula Community College men’s basketball team was March 1. However, the season didn’t officially end until three days later when the Gators did not receive an at-large bid to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III national tournament.
That didn’t diminish what the team accomplished this season, which was arguably the best in program history.
“Ultimately, we took another step forward. I would say a huge step,” said coach and athletics director Chris Moore.
That they did.
The Gators went 22-7 and reached the program’s highest national ranking at No.11. They won the Region 10 postseason tournament and regular-season titles, each for the first time. They had a 12-game winning streak. They were 3-2 against ranked teams and 4-1 against teams that were ranked at some point during the season, just not at the time of the meetings. They won their first three postseason games by 30, 29 and 40 points before losing in the NJCAA Division III District 10 championship game 92-88 in double overtime. A win would have earned the Gators a bid to the 12-team national tournament.
“Each year has been a building block,” Moore said.
The Gators, who have had men’s basketball since 1978, joined the NJCAA for the 2023-24 academic year. The first year they went 6-13 and then 14-10 last year.
“We started to receive national recognition last year,” he said, noting they received votes in the national poll that season for the first time in program history.
Three times this season they were among teams “receiving votes” in the poll and spent the final three weeks of the regular season ranked, starting at 14th and moving up to 11th.in the last poll of the regular season.
“Finishing No.11 in the country I think is huge,” Moore said.
An opportunity to make the national tournament and being the Region 10 regular-season and tournament champs were bonuses, he said.
Moore, who was named the Region 10 coach of the year, also was pleased with the individual success of his players. Jordan Watlington (Menchville High School) was the region’s player of the year, Jakobe Reed (Woodside) made the all-region first team, Jayden Sepulveda (Landstown High School) and Chris Cyrus (Hampton Christian Academy) the second team, and Ky’Saan Bevier (Weldon, N.C.) the all-freshmen team.
“With all the player accolades, it was a decorated year,” he said. “We put not only the 757 on notice, but I think we put the entire state of Virginia and the country on notice.”
He was most proud of how the players believed in something they couldn’t see.
“This process started over the summer and for them to see the fruits of their work that they put in was special,” he said. “They were able to put it all together and learn what it takes to win. And we did it as a team, not with just one individual.”
He’s already recruiting for next year, when he hopes they can take the next step and advance to the national tournament.
“We have to reload, ultimately, not rebuild,” he said. “We just have to make sure we have the right pieces to come in and help us continue to build our program.”
Prior to joining the NJCAA, the Gators won the New South Athletic Conference postseason tournament and 23 VCCS titles.
For more information on VPCC athletics, visit www.vpccgators.com.