The 12-seed HCC Dragons men’s basketball team played their opening game in the first round of the NJCAA tournament on Monday, March 17, upsetting the 5-seed Des Moines Area Community College Bears 69-66 in overtime. This is the first time the Dragons men’s basketball team has won an NJCAA Division II National Tournament game since March 21, 2013, and the first time any HCC athletics team has won an NJCAA national tournament game (ESports is governed by NJCAAE) since men’s lacrosse defeated 2-seed CCBC Essex 16-8 in the National Tournament semifinals on May 15, 2022.
The game featured 13 lead changes and was tied on 11 separate occasions. The game’s scoring was opened by the Dragons’ Emanuel Henriques, giving HCC a 2-0 lead 18 seconds into the contest. The Dragons lead by as much as 5 before losing the lead to the Bears just under ten minutes into the opening half. At the midway point of the first half, the Bears lead 14 to 17. The Dragons would attempt to come back, but each score would be met by a Des Moines response. With 3:57 remaining in the frame HCC would regain the lead, making the score 25-24, before the Bears would score again just 4 seconds later to take a 25-26 lead.
The Bears would take the largest lead from either team in the game with 1:43 remaining; a 7-point lead which the Dragons would reduce to 5 in the period’s final minute. At halftime, the score was 29-34 in favor of the Des Moines. At this point, the Dragons’ Christian Dean led the team in scoring with 9 points and also had collected a team leading 4 rebounds.
The Dragons would open the second half hot, scoring the first 6 points, with all three scores coming from three different scorers. The first 8 minutes of the games’ second frame would feature 6 lead changes, with none of those leads lasting longer than 90 seconds. At the midway point of the second half, the Bears were up 43-46, the largest lead for either team since HCC had the lead less than two minutes into the period. The Bears and Dragons would exchange the lead 4 more times in the half, with neither team in front by more than two at any point.
With 4:40 remaining in the frame, the Bears took a 51-53 lead. The Dragons would tie the game with 3:30 remaining, again with 45 seconds remaining, and again they would tie it with 23 seconds remaining. The Bears had one more possession to prevent overtime and win the game, but the Dragons’ Anthony Djami would record a block on a three-point attempt to keep the game tied at 57 and send it to overtime.
The Dragons’ Truth Norton would open overtime scoring before the Bears would quickly respond to keep it tied at 59. Norton would score again for the Dragons to give them a 61-59 lead that they would not lose. With just under 90 seconds remaining, the Dragons would take their largest lead of the game at 6. The Bears would bring it within 3 with 23 seconds remaining, and then within 2 with 8 seconds remaining, but each time the Dragons would make their subsequent free throws and complete the 66-63 upset.
Norton went 9-11 shooting, and recorded 18 points, 6 of which were in overtime. Emanuel Henriques scored the most HCC points with 22 and went 8-14 shooting. He also recorded 6 rebounds. Anthony Djami recorded a team-leading 8 rebounds.
The win extended the Dragons’ current win streak to 6, their last loss came against Prince George’s Community College on February 18.
The Dragons will play 4-seed Parkland College (Illinois) on March 19, at 7 p.m. at Danville Area Community College in Danville, Illinois, who is hosting their 32nd consecutive NJCAA Division II National Tournament. Parkland College defeated 13-seed Henry Ford (Michigan) 83-81 in their opening round matchup.
