Men's Basketball: Raiders Win District Title

The Central Community College men's basketball team earned a trip to the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament with a 73-70 win over Dakota County Technical College in the North District Playoff at the Raider Fieldhouse.

The Raiders opened the contest with a 14-6 run before the Blue Knights rattled off 10 unanswered points to take a slim 16-14 lead. CCC would again build an eight-point lead, 36-28, with just over two minutes to play. DCTC pulled to within four at halftime, 38-34.

The first nine minutes of the second half were close. Then, at the 11:04 mark, DCTC's Josh Lewis scored a layup to make the score 54-49 in favor of CCC. For the next three minutes, neither team was able to score until CCC's PJ Davis hit a three-point bucket to put the Raiders up, 57-49. The Blue Knights responded with a 19-7 run and took the lead, 68-64, with 2:54 remaining. The Raiders chipped away and regained the lead at the 1:41 mark when Davis made a pair of free throws to make the score 69-68. Thirty seconds later, CCC's Trey Deveaux nailed a pair of free throws, followed by Derek Merwick making one-of-two on two occasions to make the score 73-70 with 13 seconds to play. DCTC's Dontray Johnson missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer, allowing the Raiders to win and move on to the national tournament.

"It was nerve racking, to say the least," said CCC head coach John Ritzdorf of the tense final moments. "Our guys really kept their composure even being down by four late in the game."

Deveaux led four CCC players in double figures with 21 points while Merwick logged a double-double with 17 points and a dozen rebounds. Jayden Byabato and Blake Daberkow each scored 12 points apiece.

With the win, the Raiders are 22-9 and have won six in a row.

The national tournament will be played in Danville, Ill., from March 21-25. The Raiders will find out who their first-round opponent is during the selection show on Tuesday at 1 p.m.