Men's Basketball Makes History Finishing 5th in the Country at NJCAA DIII Basketball Championship Tournament

Men's Basketball Makes History Finishing 5th in the Country at NJCAA DIII Basketball Championship Tournament

The Montgomery College Raptors men's basketball team made history over the weekend in Loch Sheldrake, NY as the team finished in 5th place in the 2017-18 NJCAA Division III Championship Tournament. This marks the best finish for any Montgomery College men's basketball team in the school's history.  

The Raptors entered the tournament as the No. 6 seeded team, and they made a statement right of out the gate in their first game taking down the defending National Champions, No. 3 North Lake College (TX) 80-70. Collin Turner dropped 32 points and recorded four rebounds and two steals in 40 minutes of work. Ramel Davidson and Freddie Harris each recorded a double-double in the contest, Davidson recorded 13 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two assists while Harris logged 12 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Chris Johnson also added 10 points, six assists, and three steals in the 10-point victory to advance to the Semifinal round.  

MC v North Lake NJCAA Nationals Quarterfinal Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxaGkS_CmIQ 

Montgomery College found themselves on the wrong side of a great shooting night when they faced No. 2 Nassau Community College Lions (NY) falling in the semifinal round 95-81. The Raptors bothered Lions with tight defense the whole game to force them into taking contested shots, but Nassau shot 57% from three and 59% from the field. Turner also shot well, shooting higher than 50% from the field and from three to put up 35 points and Davidson added 14 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Harris registered 11 points and 11 rebounds while Eli contributed 13 points in the semifinal game against the team from New York to drop into the 3rd place final.  

MC v Nassau NJCAA National Tournament Semi-Final Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAS6HfUtffk 

The Raptors dropped their final game of the tournament to the No. 5 seed Columbus State Community College (OH) 94-87. Turner tallied a tournament-high 37 points in his last game as an MC Raptor and shot five for nine from behind the arc and 12 for 23 from the field. Harris recorded 15 points, 18 rebounds and three assists and Afanna Offor added 14 points. Eli Arnold came off the bench and added 13 points in the team's final game of the season.  

MC v Columbus State NJCAA Nationals Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmrEJ5XNdRE 

Collin Turner was selected to the NJCAA All-Tournament Team as he scored 104 points during the tournament. Turner averaged 34.6 points per game while shooting 48% from the field and 48% from three-point land over the three-day NJCAA DIII Championship Tournament!  

The Raptors finished their season with an overall record of 26-9 and 5th place in the country out of 112 Division 3 teams.