CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTOS | AWARDS
Loch Sheldrake, NY – Brookdale (NJ) capped its perfect season with the 2018 NJCAA DIII Men’s Basketball National Championship. The Jersey Blues pulled away down the stretch to top second-seeded Nassau 70-57 at the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse.
Brookdale, the top overall seed in this year’s tournament, was led by Grant Goode’s double-double as the sophomore poured in a game-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Tarique Holmes added 16 points while Jaimik moore contributed 10. Matthew Ringel dominated the glass for the Jersey Blues with 25, including 11 on the offensive end as Brookdale outrebounded Nassau 54-32.
The Lions used an array of offensive attacks to build an eight-point lead late in the first half and maintained its advantage after 20 minutes of play with a 31-29 halftime lead. Nassau built its lead back up to eight to start the second half, but a 10-0 run from Brookdale propelled the Jersey Blues back into contention.
Brookdale’s offense continued to thrive down the stretch and eventually ran away the title, its second in program history. Brookdale becomes the first DIII program to record an undefeated championship season since Sullivan County in 2007.
- Brookdale, who outscored its opponents by an average of 25.0 points per game during the regular season, won all three of its national tournament games by an average of 21.6 points per game.
- The Jersey Blues’ previous national title came in 2013, a 61-55 victory over Eastfield (TX)
- Ringel earned Tournament MVP honors after controlling the glass for the Jersey Blues while averaging 12.0 points and 2.0 blocks per game.
- Brookdale’s offensive rebounding efforts led to 18 second chance points in the win.
- Head coach Paul Cisek was named the Gary Cole Coach of the Tournament for the Jersey Blues
- Nassau was led by three players in double-figure scoring as Cameron Winston totaled a team-best 16.
- Columbus State (OH) took the third-place finish with a 97-87 victory over Montgomery.
- Herkimer placed fifth after defeating defending champs North Lake while Massasoit took seventh after a 91-86 win over Minnesota West.
- Collin Turner of Montgomery (MD), the nation’s third leading scorer in the regular season, averaged 34.6 points per game while earning All-Tournament team honors.
What a move and the put back by Brookdale! With two minutes left they are looking to seal the victory! 61-49 Brookdale leading over Nassau pic.twitter.com/Zr0CIyX3gx
— NJCAA TV (@NJCAATV) March 18, 2018
