By Marissa VanWingen
There were no secrets between Ellsworth Community College and DMACC, meeting for a third time this year - this time it was in the NJCAA National Tournament Quarterfinals in Danville, Ill.
It was all Panthers as the eighth-seed never trailed in an 86-69 final and punched their second ticket to the Final Four in three years. The Bears may have won the first two meetings, but it's never easy to beat a team three times. On a neutral court and with higher stakes, it was the No. 9 ECC that came away victorious.
In the first half, the second-ranked DMACC (32-2) shot just 26 percent from the floor. They were one of 13 from beyond the arc and had eight turnovers. The Panthers (27-7) scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back. ECC shot 43 percent from the floor and nabbed five steals.
The Panthers ran out to a 7-0 lead, five from Jonovan Wilkinson, before the Bears got on the board. The lead swelled two double figures for the first time on a steal and an Alex Charlotin basket made the difference 19-8. The Bears cut the deficit to four and then evened the game for the first time at 23-all. ECC responded and Will Taylor's drive gave the Panthers the lead back.
ECC then went on an 8-0 run, including a dunk by Charlotin to lead by 10 for the second time at 33-23. DMACC hit a buzzer beater to go into the break trailing by eight (33-25).
In the second half, the Panthers built a double digit lead several times but the Bears clawed their way back into the contest.
The closest DMACC got was five points (49-44) when ECC answered and scored seven unanswered to push the Panthers to a 56-44 lead.
Jayden Pretty got hot in the second half, especially from downtown and hit two three-pointers in a row. Tanner Berggren also made an off balance triple to extend the lead to 66-49. ECC was seven of 11 from downtown in the second half and 10 of 21 in the game. DMACC never found their shot and were 12 of 37 from the floor in the second half and 29 percent shooting for the contest.
"We know we are capable of so much more and we have just scratched the surface of what we're capable of. I'm very happy and joyful and enjoying every moment of this journey, but I also came here to do something and that's to win a National Title. I genuinely think we can do that," ECC head coach Bryan Bender said. "We have two more games to do that."
For more on ECC Athletics, visit https://www.timescitizen.com/sports/ecc/
NJCAA National Tournament
Wednesday at Danville, Ill.
ECC: 33| 53 – 86
DMACC: 25| 44 – 69
ECC Scoring: Jayden Pretty 7 2-4 19; Tanner Berggren 6 2-2 18; Alex Charlotin 4 5-6 13; Jonovan Wilkinson 3 3-4 11; Dan Pembele 3 4-9 10; Will Taylor 4 1-1 9; Jacob Khounsourath 0 3-4 3; Christian Johnson 1 0-0 3.