Cinderella CSM takes out Chesapeake men
HAGERSTOWN – Not even a dramatic return to action by Jimmie Jenkins could extend the Skipjacks' season against Region XX's Cinderella.
Jenkins, who missed six games with a torn meniscus, came back for Saturday's NJCAA Division II Region XX-B men's basketball semifinal against the College of Southern Maryland. CSM, the overall 10th seed in the region, went 6-for-6 at the line in the final 65 seconds to post an 89-84 upset of the Skipjacks, who were the top seed in Region XX-B.
CSM upset seventh-seeded Garrett College, 82-79, in Friday's play-in game just to qualify for Saturday's semifinal. The Hawks (12-18) overcame a 17-point deficit against Chesapeake to move into Sunday's final with a shot to go to the Division II national tournament.
"I told our team, 'It's a 40-minute game,' " CSM head coach Alan Hoyt said of Chesapeake's big early lead. "We just had to stay composed and keep fighting."
"They played hard," said Chesapeake head coach Joel Dearring of the Hawks.
Juwan Cole (16 points) hit four straight free throws down the stretch and Troy Cummings (game-high 23 points) added two more in the final minute. Together, Cole and Cummings sank 12-of-15 free throws.
"It's actually been a struggle all season," Hoyt said of CSM's free-throw shooting. "For the season I think we're in the low 60s (shooting percentage). But we had our best free-throw shooters on the line down the stretch and that helps."
Devon Brown added 19 points and Sigourney Jackson contributed 17 for the Hawks, who have lost 12 games by seven points or less this season.
Justin Mayes (22 points), Akanni Salako (17), Jenkins (14), Chad Church (11), and Louis Simpson (10) all reached double figures for the Skipjacks (17-12), who ended the season with three straight losses.
Early on, it didn't look like the Skipjacks would need a big game from Jenkins, who led the team in scoring and assists this season. Chesapeake led by 17 on three different occasions in the first half, but the Hawks cut the gap to 47-42 at the break.
Dearring said the Skipjacks seemed to lose their edge after building the early lead.
"We went from an attacking team to an outside-shooting team," said Dearring. "If you live by the jump shot, you die by the jump shot."
Chesapeake took its last lead, 80-77, on a tie-breaking 3-pointer by Jenkins. The game turned moments later on an offensive foul on Chesapeake's Dion Bivens, quickly followed by a technical on Dearring.
Brown hit the two technical foul shots with 3:47 remaining and added two more after a foul 10 seconds later for an 81-80 CSM lead. Salako answered with two free throws to put the Skipjacks back on top.
After Cummings scored a go-ahead layup for CSM, Jenkins scored on a driving layup with 1:21 remaining to give Chesapeake its last lead at 84-83. Cole gave the Hawks the lead for good on two free throws with 1:05 to play, and CSM forced a turnover and came up with an offensive rebound that – combined with four more free throws – nailed down the Hawks' win.
Chesapeake was trying to reach its third region final in the last seven seasons. The John Mappas-coached Skipjacks lost in the 2007 region final and won the college's only Region XX men's basketball championship the following season while setting a school record with 27 victories.
Notes: The Skipjacks played without Geran Pope, NJCAA Division II's national rebounding leader, whose girlfriend delivered their baby earlier in the day.