Covid-19 sophomore (CoSO) Jadan Graves of Syracuse, N.Y. led five players in double figures with 15 points as the DMACC men's basketball team handed Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) an 87-76 loss in the third-place game at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 19 at Danville, Ill.

Graves capped the win by being named to the all-tournament team announced at the conclusion of the championship game.

Freshman Allen Udemadu of Lagos, Nigeria, came off the bench to score 14 points, Covid-19 freshman (CoFR) Goanar Biliew of Denison, CoSO Noah Parcher of LaCrosse, Wis., and freshman Greg Brown of Omaha, Neb., scored 13, 10 and 10 respectively as the Bears closed the season at 28-8 and a No. 8 national ranking in the NJCAA Division II poll.

The win came in DMACC's fourth appearance in the tournament's Final Four since 2000. The Bears won the title in 2021 and finished fourth in 2002 and 2015.

DMACC, the tournament's No. 4 seed, never trailed in the win. The Bears raced away to a 17-4 lead with the game five minutes old and coasted to a 47-32 advantage at halftime. DMACC led by as many as 20 points in the second half and SCCC, the No. 3 seed, never got closer than 10 points until 2 minutes, 4 seconds remained when the Bears' lead was cut to 80-76. Parcher rescued DMACC with a layup and Graves added a three-point basket and a regular basket to close out the win.

DMACC shot 57 percent in the win, making 34 of 60 field goal attempts. The Bears were 11-of-24 from three-point range and 8-of-12 from the free throw line.

Parcher pulled down seven rebounds, Brown had six and Graves and Biliew grabbed five apiece as DMACC came away with a 37-33 advantage on the boards. Brown led the Bears in assists and steals with six and two.

DMACC was sent to the third-place game after dropping a 69-57 decision to top-seeded South Suburban College (SSC) in the semifinals on March 18. The Bears kept pace with the Bulldogs throughout the first half, trailing 30-28 at halftime, but suffered a scoring drought in the second half that gave SSC the momentum. DMACC went 4:10 without a point and more than nine minutes without a field goal as SSC built a 45-33 advantage and never led by less than 12 points the rest of the way.

Sophomore Michael Hartford of McKinney, Texas, led the Bears with 12 points and CoFR Jimarius Sneed of Coral Springs, Fla., came off the bench to score 10 points.

DMACC shot just 35 percent, hitting 18 of 52 field goal attempts. The Bears were 7-of-21 from three-point range and 14-of-19 from the free throw line.

DMACC had a 36-35 advantage on the boards with Parcher's eight rebounds leading the Bears. He also led the way in assists and steals with four and two.