NJCAA Region IV Div. II Men's Basketball District 4 Championship
Saturday, March 10, 2018
#2 South Suburban 37 39 ( 76 ) 28-5
#1 Morton 43 24 ( 67 ) 20-13
South Suburban rallies to down Morton for Region crown
(Sugar Grove, IL.) –The Morton College Panthers may have been the one seed coming into the Region IV Division II District 4 title game, but second-seeded South Suburban College was still probably considered the favorite. The Bulldogs entered the evening 27-5 overall and ranked seventh nationally in the latest NJCAA Division II poll. Morton, winners of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference, entered the night with only a 20-12 overall mark. Included in those 12 losses was an 18-point defeat to South Suburban in early December.
Of course none of that mattered once the game commenced. A closely contested battled was fought throughout before South Suburban pulled out a 76-67 victory. The Bulldogs now advance to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in downstate Danville beginning on March 20. South Suburban downed Morton last year in the Region IV title game as well. This will be the sixth time in the last seven years that South Suburban has reached the National Tournament.
South Suburban started the game with a 7-0 run. It turned out to be their biggest lead until late in the second half. The Panthers out hustled and out played the highly touted Bulldogs for a large portion of the first half, building a 13-point lead with three minutes to go. However, South Suburban finished the half with a 7-0 run, capped off by Brian Davis' two-handed dunk on a breakaway in the final seconds to pull the Bulldogs within six points at 43-37.
At the outset of the second half the Bulldogs continued their comeback, starting the period with a quick 4-0 run to get the deficit down to just two points. After leading for the previous 26 minutes of play, the Bulldogs finally caught the Panthers with 13:45 remaining on a three-pointer by Jordan Matthews to knot the score at 47. South Suburban then took the lead a few moments later on a breakaway lay-up by Lawrence Lemon as part of a 21-4 run.
Morton finally started to get back on track offensively as a nip-and-tuck affair ensued after that. However, the Panthers showed signs of fatigue and South Suburban gradually built an eight-point advantage with four minutes to go. Morton made one more run at the Bulldogs, pulling within four points with two minutes to go on a long three-pointer by Deonte McReynolds. Moments later Lemon soared high in a crowd under the basket to tip-in a missed shot with 1:45 left to put the Bulldogs up 68-62. The Bulldogs then clinched the title by connecting on six foul shots in the final 90 seconds of play.
Matthews led all scorers with 31 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists, earning the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. Jamal Bailey also came up big for the Bulldogs, netting 24 points and hauling down 10 rebounds on his way to also being named to the All-Tournament Team. Lemon rounded out a trio of Bulldogs named to the All-Tournament Team as he finished with 13 points and nine boards. South Suburban head coach John Pigatti was named the Region IV Division II District 4 Coach of the Year. Joffrey Brown paced Morton with 20 points, while Mason Vires chipped in with 18 points and three assists, and McReynolds added 17 points. Brown, Vires and McReynolds were each tabbed All-Tournament performers for Morton.