Men's Basketball: CCBC Essex Ready for Region XX Tournament

While a loss is never easy for a team to accept, CCBC Essex walked off the court following its quarterfinal loss in the MD JUCO Tournament believing it could play with just about any junior college team in the nation.

Last week, CCBC Essex led 74-73 in the final seconds against Cecil College, ranked seventh nationally among NJCAA Division II schools. However, Cecil’s Omar Strong hit a three-pointer with 1.9 second remaining to lift the Seahawks to a 76-74 win.

Despite the loss, CCBC Essex still has plenty to play for as it prepares to face Chesapeake College at 4 p.m. on Friday in the Region XX Tournament at Hagerstown Community College. The Knights (17-10) are the second seed in the eight-team field with the winner receiving an automatic berth into the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

“Our confidence is definitely up right now,” Knights coach Mike Francis said. “We were clicking on offense, defense and at the free throw line in that game against Cecil. We just let up for those few seconds and they hit that three-pointer at the end.”

CCBC Essex has defeated Chesapeake twice this season, 101-97 and 93-72. The Knights also entered the week having won seven of their last nine games. Still, Francis isn’t taking any game for granted.

“We can’t have a let down here,” Francis said. “When you play a team for a third time, anything is possible.”

Sophomore guard Jordan Benson is the Knights leading scorer, averaging 21 points per game, good enough for 16th nationally among NJCAA Division II schools. Sophomore guard Greg Hunt is 4th nationally in assists per game (7.9), while freshman forward Jerrium Beale is the Knights’ top rebounder at 10.5 per game, which places him 17th in the country.

Sophomore forward David Ford has also had a solid season, averaging 18 points and 9 rebounds a game. He also scored 15 points in the loss to Cecil. Ford and Benson earned MD JUCO First-Team All-Conference honors for their performances this season.

Should CCBC Essex win on Friday, it would face the winner of No. 3 Baltimore City Community College and No. 6 Potomac State (WV) on Saturday with a chance for a rematch against Cecil in the championship game on Sunday.

“This group understands this is playoff basketball time and if you lose, you go home,” Francis said. “If we lose, it won’t be because they didn’t leave everything on the court.”