DANVILLE, Ill. – The Parkland College men's basketball team dropped out of the NJCAA National Tournament with an 81-66 loss versus Des Moines Area Community College on Friday, March 22nd. The No. 7 seed Cobras (29-6) struggled offensively from the tip against the No. 8 seed Bears (30-5), shooting just 25-71 (35.2%) from the field and 4-23 (17.4%) from three in the season-ending loss. Sophomore guard Jabryn Anderson scored a team-high 16 points, and fellow sophomore Decatur native Brylan Phillips grabbed a game-high 7 rebounds on Friday.
 
"I've been in this game once before, and these are always hard ones to play for anybody," Bowler said after the game. "You know, the guys are chasing a national championship, you had a letdown late last night, and having to bounce back quick, I think our emotions were still caught up in last night's game."
 
"It is what it is," Bowler recounted after the loss. "It's not something to dwell upon. We have to focus on the fact that we went 29-6 with a hell of a year. We have a lot of really really good dudes – and this is one of the winningest teams in school history. Those are the real positives, and I'm grateful I get to lead these guys, and I'm grateful that I was able to coach them for this long."
 
Parkland started slow offensively, falling behind 14-2 at the first media timeout – and Des Moines Area extended its lead to 22-7 midway through the half. The Cobras trailed 24-11 at the second media timeout with 6:29 until halftime, and another slump saw the deficit lead grow to 35-13 with 2:07 to go. Sophomore Jabryn Anderson provided a spark with his own 6-0 run before the break – but the Bears scored at the buzzer and went into halftime with a 37-19 lead. Only three Cobras scored in the first half, with all 19 points coming from Anderson, Drew Lewis Jr. and Ken Sallee. Des Moines Area maintained the lead early in the second half, and a slew of threes put the Bears up 56-31 with 13:18 left. Parkland picked up the pace but continued to fall behind as Bowler called timeout down 70-47 with 7:33 remaining. The Cobras closed the gap to 76-59 with 2:28 to go on a short run, but the lead proved insurmountable – and Parkland lost 81-66 in the NJCAA DII National Tournament 5th Place Consolation Bracket.
 
"I think the intensity and fighting back was pretty good," Bowler said when asked about the positives to take away from the game. "Obviously, the slow start really hindered us, and it becomes a 14-point game at the end when really we get down 12 in the first minutes, so that's just probably the biggest part of it. You take the good with the bad."
 
Scoring Summary:
Jabryn Anderson: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Brylan Phillips: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
Ken Sallee: 11 points
Drew Lewis Jr.: 10 points (6-6 FT), 4 rebounds
JaMonte Williams: 8 points, 3 rebounds