Box Score DANVILLE, Ill. – The Parkland men's basketball team took an early lead and never let it slip away on Saturday afternoon as the Cobras defeated Dakota County Technical College 85-67 in the NJCAA DII Consolation Bracket Championship game. The No. 13 seed Cobras finish out the year with three straight postseason wins by an average of 16.7 points. This is the best postseason finish for the Parkland College men's basketball team since 2017 and the third time Anthony Figueroa has coached the Cobras to a top-eight finish at the NJCAA DII National Tournament.
 
"To finish seventh in the country, out of about 130 teams at our level, I hope our guys just really understand what they did," head coach Anthony Figueroa said after the win. "I think we accomplished what we set out to at the beginning of the year which was to make sure everyone knew about Parkland. And remembered us." Figueroa continued, saying, "It was our mission to make sure people remembered us and knew that we're a national program and we think we can compete at that level."
 
The Cobras (23-8) started off with an early 7-0 lead in the first three minutes and the team led 17-4 after a Sean Ealy layup with 12:49 remaining in the half. Parkland held a 16-point lead with 6:45 to go at the second media timeout after Josh Rivers tipped in a putback, and the Cobras led by as many as 28 in the first half. The Blue Knights (20-10) were able to force some late turnovers and the team closed the half on an 8-2 run to cut the Cobras lead to 48-26 at halftime. A'Kieon Gill finished the half with nine points on 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc as Parkland shot over 61 percent (19-31) from the field in the first half.
The second half did not start as the Cobras had hoped, as the Blue Knights went on a quick 12-0 run in the first 3:30 to cut Parkland's lead to just 10. A'Kieon Gill stayed hot from three, stopping the Knights' run with a triple to make the score 51-38 with 15:37 to go. At the final media timeout, the Cobras held a 16-point, 67-51 lead, and not even a Blue Knights full-court press could slow down the offense. Anthony Figueroa was able to substitute his starters with 1:25 remaining and the game in hand. Parkland looked cool, calm and collected as the Cobras coasted to an 85-67 win and a seventh-place finish at the NJCAA DII National Tournament.
 
Sophomore A'Kieon Gill (20 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals) led all scorers and was honored after the game with an All-Tournament team selection. "I'm happy for A'Kieon that he gets that recognition," Figueroa said. "Hopefully, four-year coaches take notice of that as well and come recruit some more of our guys."
 
Scoring Summary:
A'Kieon Gill: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals
Savon Wykle: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
Jamil Hardaway: 10 points
Daniel Reed: 10 points, 2-2 3PT, 4-4 FT
Josh Rivers: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals