BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
HUTCHINSON – Barton’s game-plan was simple – pressure Northwest Florida State and attack the basket with precision.
The No. 1 ranked Barton Community College Cougars roared to a 23-point lead and eliminated 3-time NJCAA champion Northwest Florida State 87-73 in Wednesday’s quarterfinal game. The Cougars (34-1) play in Thursday's 5 p.m. semifinal against Indian Hills, Iowa. The Warriors downed the Cougars 100-86 in the 1999 NJCAA championship game.
The Cougars dominated the Raiders 77-54 with four minutes left. The Raiders regained some respect by outscoring the Cougars 19-10 in the final minutes.
"We played much better basketball today, especially the first 35 minutes," said Barton coach Jeremy Coombs. "Those last few minutes were ugly. We didn't finish the game like we wanted."
The No. 8 ranked Raiders had qualified for six of the past 12 championship games. The Raiders captured NJCAA basketball titles in 1995, 2015 and 2022 and finished runner-up in 2012, 2013, and 2022.
The Raiders (29-6) committed 20 turnovers and converted 23 of 64 field goals (36%), 5 of 23 from 3-point range (22%). Leading Raider scorer Tajaun Simpkins (8 points) was ejected for a flagrant foul with 12:56 left in the game. Region Most Valuable Player Jamal Sumlin (16 points) and 1st team Tavion Banks (16 points) both fouled out.
"Our guys were locked in defensively with a great scouting report," said Coombs. "We ran shooters off the 3-point line. We did a fantastic job. Our guys were ready to go."
Coombs smartly kept the Raiders off balance with a nice mix of man-to-man, 3/4 court pressure and aggressive half-court 2-3 zone defense. Defensive
"We confuse teams because we mix it up," he said. "Our zone throws teams off because teams think they're working against man-to-man. We'll press and back into our 2-3 zone defense. We guarded the ball and our wings are up contesting the 3-pointer. It's an aggressive zone, good on-ball defense."
As usual, the Cougars displayed brilliant offensive balance. Brent Moss (18), Ring Malith (16), Mozae Downing-Rivers (12), Myles Thompson (11), Cooper Jackson (11) and Keandre Kindell (11) scored in double figures. Moss and Kindell led a Cougar 29-13 advantage off the bench.
Jones threw down an emphatic slam dunk that led to a 77-54 lead.
Downing-Rivers and Kindell each passed out seven assists. Twenty of 30 Cougar baskets contributed an assist.
"Our two freshmen Keandre Kindell and Brent Moss came off the bench and stepped up," said Barton coach Coombs. "That's a big stage for a freshman. We knew we had players step up if they took people away."
Kindell sparked the Cougars to a 42-35 halftime lead with nine points and five assists in 11 spectacular minutes. Kindell fed Moss and Malith twice for impressive slam dunks. The Raiders sliced the Cougars’ 42-27 lead to 42-35 with a pair of 3-pointers by Rasheed Jones and a basket by Shider for a 8-0 run.
The Cougars effectively switched defenses from man-to-man, matchup and several token pressure schemes to slow the Raiders.
NW FLORIDA (29-6)—Sumlin 6-8 3-4 16, Banks 4-15 8-10 16, Jones 3-11 4-5 13, Elliott 3-11 2-3 9,Simpkins 2-2 4-6 8, Shider 3-10 1-2 7, Hynes 1-6 0-0 2, Brown 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 23-64 22-30 73.
BARTON (34-1)—Malith 7-14 0-0 15, Downing-Rivers 3-3 5-6 12, Thompson 5-16 1-2 11, Jackson 2-2 7-12 11, Jones 2-6 5-7 9, Kindell 5-7 0-0 11, Moss 6-10 6-6 18, Ndayisaba 0-0 0-0 0, Bowen-Webb 0-1 0-0 0, Spray 0-1 0-0 0, Surakat 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 30-60 24-44 87.
3-pointers—NW 5-23 (Jones 3-8, Sumlin 1-2, Elliott 1-8, Hynes 0-2, Banks 0-3), BC 3-13 (Downing-Rivers 1-1, Kindell 1-2, Thompson 1-2, Malith 1-6, Jones 0-1, Bowen-Webb 0-1).
Rebounds—NW 38 (Banks 15), BC 35 (Jones 11). Assists—NW 11 (Shider 2), BC 20 (Kindell 7, Downing-Rivers 7). Steals—NW 11 (Sumlin ), BC 16 (Jackson 7). TO—NW 20, BC 19.
2024 NJCAA TOURNAMENT
SATURDAY—CHAMPIONSHIP—1 p.m.—No. 1 Barton 35-1 vs. No. 6 Triton, Ill 34-2 (ESPN-U)
THURSDAY—Barton 93, Indian Hills, Iowa 78; Triton, Ill. 87, Connors State, Okla 84
WEDNESDAY—Barton 87, Northwest Florida State 73; Indian Hills 74, Odessa, Texas 68; Triton, Ill. 88, South Plains 87; Connors State, Okla. 91, Hutchinson 69
TUESDAY—Odessa, Texas 58, Vincennes, Ind. 56; Indian Hills, Iowa 68, Wallace State, Ala. 58; Connors State, Okla. 67, Salt Lake, Utah 61; Hutchinson 78, Chipola, Fla. 71
MONDAY—Connors State, Okla. 86, Moberly, Mo. 77; Hutchinson 96 South Carolina Salkehatchie 82; Barton 83, Walters State, Tenn. 68; NW Florida 85, Cowley College 70; South Plains 80, Panola, Texas 76; Triton, Ill. 105, Trinity Valley, Texas 87
SUNDAY—Walters, State, Tenn. 85, Daytona, Fla. 82; Cowley 87, Allegany, Md. 64; Wallace State, Ala. 76, Lee, Texas 64; Odessa, Texas 81, Trinidad State, Colo. 58; Panola, Texas 84, Jones, Miss. 73; Trinity Valley, Texas 61, Georgia Highlands 54
