INA, Ill. – The Parkland College men's basketball team punched its ticket to the NJCAA DII National Tournament with a 73-56 win over John Wood Community College on Sunday, March 10th, in the Region 24 Championship Game. After a back-and-forth first half, the No. 1 seed Cobras (28-4) pulled away from the No. 3 seed Blazers (19-12), outscoring John Wood 39-25 in the second half to win the NJCAA DII Central District Championship for the third time in five years. Sophomore Brylan Phillips led all scorers with 19 points in the win.
 
"Special moment for a special group of people," Parkland College head coach John Bowler said after his first Region 24 title with the Cobras. "This team has made it easy on us as coaches with their unselfishness, buy-in, and commitment to winning. Really proud of our team."
 
"Going to celebrate our accomplishment today and start preparing for the tournament," Bowler finished.
 
The Cobras built an early 10-3 lead four minutes into the game before the Blazers embarked on an 11-1 run, taking a 14-11 lead with 12:28 to go in the first half. Parkland answered with a 12-0 run capped by a Drew Lewis Jr. triple to go up 23-14, forcing John Wood to call timeout with 9:44 on the clock. Lewis Jr. buried another three on the next possession as the Cobras started to heat up, but another long 11-0 run from the Blazers in the closing stages of the half gave John Wood a 31-28 lead with 1:27 until halftime. Parkland responded again, closing the first half strong to lead 34-31 at the break, and the Cobras opened the second half on an 11-2 run, taking a 45-33 lead with 16:32 remaining before the Blazers called timeout. The Cobras continued to grow their lead behind the arc as Grant Coleman knocked down his second three of the game to put Parkland up 16 with 13:40 to go, and Ken Sallee pushed the lead to 58-38 on a jumper with just under 11 minutes left. Parkland slowed things down after head coach John Bowler called timeout with 3:45 on the clock, leading 70-49, and the Cobras cruised to a 73-56 win.
 
Scoring Summary:
Brylan Phillips: 19 points
Ken Sallee: 17 points
Grant Coleman: 12 points
Tye Banks: 8 points
 
Up next, the Cobras await the release of the NJCAA National Tournament Seeding on Tuesday, March 12th, to find out who their next opponent will be. The NJCAA DII National Tournament begins on Monday, March 18th, in Danville, Illinois.