Gators fall short in district semis; season over
VPCC makes giant strides in just second season in NJCAA.
Virginia Peninsula Community College men's basketball season ended March 1 with an 87-70 loss to Owens Community College in the Mid-Atlantic District tournament at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, N.C.
The Gators (14-10) trailed 43-32 at the half as the opponents from Ohio closed on a 9-2 run, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer. VPCC cut the deficit to 52-46 with about 13 minutes left but couldn't pull out the win. The Gators hoped to advance to the NJCAA national tournament in Herkimer, N.Y., on March 12-15.
"We just couldn't make shots, but we had a good run," said coach and athletics director Chris Moore. "I thought we had a chance at the national tournament."
He added his players seemed tired.
"We had a bunch of young guys," he said. "We were relying on a lot of freshmen and guys who hadn't played in the NJCAA."
Last year, the Gators' first in the NJCAA, they lost in the first round of the Region 10 tournament, so finishing runner-up in the region and advancing to the district tournament this year were big improvements.
"We had a good year," Moore said.
Four Gators earned Region 10 honors. Sincere Moore (Matoaca/Chesterfield) made the all-region, all-freshmen and all-academic teams. Joining him on the all-academic team were Jakobe Reed (Woodside/Hampton), Emmanuel Anguila (Kempsville/Virginia Beach) and Asa Fehrenbach (Lafayette/Williamsburg).