DANVILLE, Ill. – The No. 7 seed Parkland College men's basketball team lost a tense 79-70 matchup against No. 2 seed South Suburban College in the NJCAA DII National Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 21st. The Cobras (29-5) hung around and led in the second half versus the Bulldogs (33-2) – but the team surrendered 17 offensive rebounds – and a late shooting slump sunk the comeback bid as Parkland dropped into the NJCAA 5th Place Consolation bracket. Freshman JaMonte Williams provided a team-high 23 points off the bench in the loss, a new career-high for the Champaign native.
 
"It's unfortunate our shooting kind of ran out towards the end," Bowler said. "It's one of those things that's carried us all year, and we never really got back to it… We followed the game plan; we kept them out of transition. That's a team that scores 98 (points) a game, and we were able to hold them to 32 in the first half. Second half, we started turning it over a little bit more, and then they were able to get out in transition."
 
"We got beat towards the end, and then we have to keep our composure, and that starts with me," Bowler added. "It's tough. At our level, we really have freshmen and sophomores still. We're looking for senior leadership, and they're working their way towards that level."
 
Parkland trailed 10-7 at the first media timeout six minutes into the game, but the lead quickly changed hands back and forth out of the break, and the Cobras led 17-14 with 9:09 on the clock. The Bulldogs went back up 22-20 with 6:24 left, and the two teams traded the lead again with just under four minutes to go before South Suburban called a timeout with 3:04 remaining and a 27-26 lead. The Cobras tied the game before the break 30-30 on back-to-back buckets from freshman JaMonte Williams, but the Bulldogs regained the lead and led 32-30 at halftime. Parkland powered ahead 34-32 in the first minute of the second half with two quick baskets from sophomore Tye Banks before South Suburban surged back to take a 45-38 lead with 15:17 to go, forcing a Parkland timeout. The Cobras climbed back into it midway through the half, trimming the deficit to 51-48 on a Ken Sallee triple, but a 15-2 run for the Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 66-52 with 7:43 left. The pace slowed as South Suburban burned the clock down the stretch, maintaining a 73-63 lead with 2:06 on the clock – and the Parkland offense fell cold as the Cobras lost 79-70 in the quarterfinals.
 
 "I think Jabryn again was fantastic," Bowler recounted. "He did a great job guarding, and then did a great job offensively, and then JaMonte played great for us, gave us a real spark."
 
"Obviously, no excuses. We lost. But it hurts not having Issac (Mapson III). He obviously helps clean up a lot on the boards," Bowler said about the rebounding difference in the game.
 
"We try to build a program on just competing every day, so I know this one hurts because it feels like the season is over, but there's an opportunity for us to compete again tomorrow," Bowler added. "No matter what that looks like. We'll play in an open parking lot against anybody. That mentality has to carry over. Everybody wants to play in the ones that count, the hard ones are the ones that happen after you lose."
 
Scoring Summary:
JaMonte Williams: 23 points (10-13 FG), 5 rebounds
Jabryn Anderson: 21 points (10-12 FT), 6 rebounds
Tye Banks: 9 points, 5 rebounds
Brylan Phillips: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
 
Up Next, the Cobras will take on No. 8 seed Des Moines Area Community College in the NJCAA DII 5th Place Consolation Bracket of the NJCAA National Tournament on Friday, March 22nd. Tip-off against the Bears (29-5) is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the Mary Miller Center in Danville, Illinois.