2025 NJCAA D1 Men's Basketball Semifinals
Connors State beats South Plains 80 - 74, Trinity Valley CC beats Panola 51 - 47 @ Hutchinson Sports Arena
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Article and photos by Dale Grosbach
Semifinal 1: Cowboys Defeat the Texans in a Fast-Paced Battle
The #17-seeded Cowboys of Connors State College (OK) triumphed over the #4 South Plains College (TX) Texans 80 - 74 in the first semifinal of the 2025 Credit Union 1 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
The Cowboys never trailed in the game, establishing an 11-point lead at the 12:04 mark of the first half. Connors State's freshman guard #14 DJ Dormu led all scorers with 28 points and four rebounds. Sophomore forward #32 Edwin Daniel supported their fellow Cowboys with 13 points and 16 rebounds, and freshman guard #10 Kevin Stubblefield Jr. contributed 13 points and five rebounds.
For the Texans, sophomore guard #3 Issac Taveras recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while sophomore guard #22 Jalen Ricks added 19 points and five rebounds.
With this victory, Connors State improves its record to 32-3 and will face the #7 seeded Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals (TX) in the 2025 Credit Union 1 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Final. The game is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Semifinal 2: Cardinals Hold On to Overcome the Ponies
#7 Trinity Valley Community College (TX) Cardinals defeated the #6 Panola College (TX) Ponies 51 - 47 in the second Semi-final of the 2025 Credit Union 1 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
This matchup marked the fourth meeting between Trinity Valley and Panola during the 2024-2025 season. Each team had previously won on its home floor, and Panola secured its spot in the national tournament by winning the district tournament. Trinity Valley qualified as an at-large participant.
The Cardinals started strong, leading 32-22 at halftime, building their advantage to as much as 15 points during the first period. Panola fought back in the second half, using effective rebounding and a trapping defense to narrow the gap to just three points with two minutes remaining in the game.
Sophomore guard #10 Garrett Nuckolls and freshman forward #13 Zati Loubaki led the effort for Trinity Valley. Nuckolls recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Loubaki went for 17 points and four rebounds.
Sophomore guard #21 Khoi Thurmon led the Ponies, with 19 points, leading all participants, and three rebounds. Freshman #42 CJ Worsham had 8 points and 17 rebounds.
The #7 Trinity Valley Cardinals improved their record to 33-3 with this victory. They will face the #17 Connors State College (OK) Cowboys in the 2025 Credit Union 1 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Final at 1:00 PM on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
This article was delivered to your inbox to inform you that hutchinson citizen journal now has sports coverage. Future sports articles will be posted online, but not emailed. We plan to cover Hutchinson-area high school and college sports.
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