Tribunes top CCRI to advance to nationals
A pair of late runs help Monroe win, 85-78
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
31 | 47 | 78 |
|
|
34 | 51 | 85 |
Team Stats
Community College of Rhode Island
| Game Statistics | Community College of Rhode Island | Monroe Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (31-81) | (30-63) |
| Field Goal % | 38.3% | 47.6% |
| Rebounds | 47 | 37 |
| Assists | 18 | 24 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 23 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 19 | 15 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 16 | 4 |
| Pts in the Paint | 32 | 32 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 12 | 40 |
ROCHESTER - The Monroe Community College men's basketball team has proven all season that it can score in bunches. With the Community College of Rhode Island Knights hanging tough in Saturday's NJCAA District 2 title game, that ability turned out to be the key for the Tribunes.
MCC used a 15-5 run midway through the second half to get some breathing room, and fired off an 11-0 spurt down the stretch to beat CCRI 85-78. The Tribunes (29-3) advance to the NJCAA Division II national tournament, March 19-23, in Danville, Ill.
It's Monroe's first trip to the national tournament since 2010. The win was also the 550th in the career of head coach Jerry Burns.
With the score tied at 52 with 10:31 left in the game, MCC broke off the 15-5 run over a span of 2:43 to give the team a 10-point cushion. The long ball was the threat in this run. Ta-Quan Zimmerman (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) hit a 3 from the top of the key to start it before Greg Williams (Cincinnati, OH/Princeton) followed with one of his own.
Malcolm McNair (Jacksonville, FL/Samuel L. Wolfson) then connected on three straight from downtown as MCC went up 67-57 with 7:48 left.
The Knights weren't finished, however, and they whittled the Tribune lead down to three at 70-67 with 5:25 remaining. That's when Monroe responded with an 11-0 run over the next 3:16 that put the game out of reach.
Arnold Fripp (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Collegiate) started it with a 3-ball from the wing. Williams and Fripp then ended the run with consecutive thunderous dunks to put Monroe up 81-67 with 2:09 remaining. MCC held off another CCRI charge to come away with the victory.
Williams finished with a team-high 23 to lead the Tribunes. The sophomore shooting guard had a personal 13-0 run midway through the first half that included three 3's and a four-point play that helped MCC dig out of an early five-point hole.
McNair and Fripp finished with 16 points apiece, and Zimmermand chipped in with seven points and eight assists. Fripp also added five blocks.
MCC overcame 23 turnovers on the day.