Pirates basketball needed a pair of victories in the NJCAA Region XVI tournament to keep their dreams of making the national tournament for the 4th straight year alive. Coach Esry's squad was up to the task as they defeated St. Louis CC 88-61 in the semifinal and Metropolitan CC 89-78 in the championship. Next up will be a Central Plains District Championship matchup with Southern Arkansas University Tech with that berth to the national tournament on the line. The game will be played in the Ketcham Community Center on Saturday following the women's game. With a win, NCMC will make its 4th straight trip to Danville, IL with hopes of taking home the school's first national title.
NCMC had a pair of players, Isaiah Ervin and Kolten Griffin, earn 1st Team All-Region status. Ervin averaged 17.4 ppg on 43% shooting for the season. Griffin nearly averaged a double-double for the season, netting an average of 15.5 points and pulling down 9.6 rebounds per game.
