By John Mesh
Barton Community College’s hopes of being a repeat national champion ended.
The Cougars lost 73-70 to Daytona State College, Fla., in the second round of the 77th NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament Tuesday afternoon on Sam Butterfield Court at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
No. 9-seed Barton CC, the Region VI Tournament champions in 2024 and the runner-up in 2025, finished the season with a 26-9 record. Barton placed third in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference this season and was ranked 14th in the final regular-season NJCAA poll.
Barton’s 14-game winning streak at the Hutchinson Sports Arena (including five double-digit wins in the NJCAA Tournament), ended with the loss.
In addition to the defending NJCAA champions Barton going down Tuesday, No. 1 seed Snow College (Utah) and No. 3 seed Indian Hills (Iowa) went down on Monday. No. 2 seed Cowley Cowley survived an upset scare by Triton College Monday.
No. 8 -seed Daytona State, Fla., improved to 28-5 and will play Connors State College (30-3), Warner, Okla., in the noon quarterfinal game (Elite Eight) on Wednesday.
“It’s crazy awesome to have a first-round bye and it’s nice to play that first game,” said Daytona State College’s second-year coach Joey Cantens during a postgame interview on ESPN+ and Youtube.
The Falcons posted their first win in four trips to the national tournament. This is their second straight trip to the tournament.
“We’re not just glad to be here. We’re here to make some noise,” Cantens said.
The Daytona State Falcons led Barton CC 43-30 at halftime. The Cougars outscored the Falcons 40-30 in the second half. The 73-70 final margin was the closest Barton could get in the second half.
The Cougars were kept in the game by a 28-point, 12-rebound performance by Brent Moss, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward/guard from the Bahamas.
Aris Rodriguez scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers and 6-of-8 free throw attempts.
Sebastian Muchitsch had 7 points and 8 rebounds for the Cougars. Eltramon Smith Jr. had 6 points and 7 rebounds.
Barton point guard Keandre (Dre) Kindell fouled out of the game with 20 seconds left. The Wichita State University signee scored just 5 points but dished off 8 assists.
James Parlow Jr. had 5 points and 3 steals. Fontaine Williams added 2 points for Barton.
Dylan Diaz led the Falcons with 15 points (12 at halftime), including four 3-pointers. Tyrese Lacey scored 14 points, Isaiah Dorceus 12 and Ryan Bewley 10.
Jaylin Payne contributed 8 points, Noah Mendy 5, Matt Bewley 4, Hussar Cuevas 3 and Eduardo (Eddie) Pacer 2.
Dorceus had 3 steals. Ryan Bewley blocked 5 Barton shots.
Trinity Valley CC 92, Trinidad State 60
Trinity Valley Community College advanced to the Elite Eight quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament with a 92-60 victory over Trinidad State, Colo. Tuesday afternoon on Sam Butterfield Court at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Trinity Valley (31-3), from Athens, Texas, plays Cowley College (30-4) in the 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal game (Elite Eight) on Wednesday.
Trinity Valley leads halftime 43-28 and then poured it on with a 49-32 second half.
Tyler Smith led Trinity Valley with 16 points, Zati Loubaki scored 15 and Garrett Nuckolls 14.
Lateef Patrick led the Trinidad State Trojans with 26 points.
No. 23-seed Trinidad State finished the season with a 19-15 record.
Trinity Valley, from Athens, Texas, led at halftime 43-28.
Angelina College 74, Jones College 62
The Angelina College Roadrunners from Lufkin, Texas, advanced to the quarterfinals (Elite Eight) of the NJCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament with a 74-62 victory over the Jones College Bobcats from Ellisville, Miss.
Angelina College (27-6) from Lufkin, Texas, will play South Plains College, Texas, (28-6) in the 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal game (Elite Eight) on Wednesday.
The Angelina Roadrunners led at halftime 37-27 and outscored the Bobcats 37-35 in the second half.
Christian Jones the Roadrunners with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Jordan Matthews scored 20 points, including 6-of-6 free throws. Daemon Ely scored 17 points and Chris Carpenter 12. Both Ely and Carpenter hit 5-of-7 free throws.
Dimp Pernell led the Bobcats with 17 points. Avery Thomas II scored 15 points, Ky Pernell 12 and LJ Hackman8.
Jones College finished the season with a 30-4 record.
Frank Phillips College vs. Panola College
In a Texas showdown in the second round, Frank Phillips College (25-8, from Borger) played Panola College (27-6, from Carthage) at 8 p.m.
The score and key stats from the game will be posted in Thursday’s edition of the Hutchinson Tribune.
The winner plays Vincennes University, Ind. (28-4), in the 8 p.m. quarterfinal game (Elite Eight) on Wednesday.
No games are scheduled on Thursday.
The semifinals (featuring the four quarterfinal winners) will be played at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday. The championship game will be played at noon Saturday and will be televised on ESPNU.
Monday 2nd round game: Vincennes University 85, Indian Hills 71
No. 14-seed Vincennes University advanced to the quarterfinal (Elite Eight) round with an 85-71 upset victory over No. 3-seed Indian Hills Ciommunity College late Monday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Vincennes improved to 28-4. Indian Hills, from Centerville, Iowa, finished the season 27-6.
Five Vincennes Trailblazers scored in double figures, led by Hussein Elmaraghy with 20 points. Lebron Thomas scored 15 points, Bryan Akanmu 14, Dayton Williams 11 and Michael Cooper 11.
Quinton Perkins II led Indian Hills with 20 points. Trenton Walters scored 15 and Kayden Nation 11. Amonte Allen-Johnson contributed 8.
Hutchinson CC baseball team outlasts Southeast CC
The Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragon baseball team outlasted the Bobcats from Southeast CC of Beatrice, Neb., 12-8 Wednesday afternoon in a single nine-inning contest at Hobart-Detter Field in Hutchinson’s Carey Park.
Tabor Stokes recorded four hits and five RBIs to lead the Blue Dragon baseball team past Southeast CC.
Hutchinson improved to 21-8 overall.
The Blue Dragons host Allen County in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field.
The Blue Dragons and the Allen County Red Devils play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at ACC Baseball Field in Iola.
Hutchinson CC softball team sweeps player, pitcher honors for 2nd straight week
For the second straight week, the Hutchinson Community College softball team has swept the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Division I Softball Player of the Week awards.
Brooke Backhaus and Morgan Tomlinson earned this week’s honors for Player and Pitcher of the Week.
With a walk-off two-run single figuring into the mix, Blue Dragon sophomore first baseman Brooke Backhaus had an impressive week as Hutchinson went 4-0 with sweeps of Garden City and Dodge City and ran its winning streak to 10-straight games.
For the week, Backhaus hit .462 (6 for 13) with two doubles and nine RBIs.
Trailing Garden City 9-8 in Game 2 in the bottom of the seventh, Backhaus lashed a line-drive to left to score the game-tying and game-winning runs in a walk-off 10-9 victory.
Backhaus also delivered a walk-off hit in a 10-2 run-rule victory over Dodge City in Game 2.
Blue Dragon sophomore pitcher Morgan Tomlinson went 3-0 last week to lead the Blue Dragon softball team to a 10-game winning streak and a tie for first place in the KJCCC standings.
For the week, Tomlinson was 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA after allowing six hits, two earned runs, and three walks over 14 innings pitched with 20 strikeouts.
Tomlinson earned pitching wins in both ends of a doubleheader against Garden City by starting game one and helping Hutchinson to a 5-2 win as the sophomore tied a career high with nine strikeouts in a complete-game victory.
In Game 2, Tomlinson then worked the final two innings as part of a come-from-behind 10-9 win, retiring all six batters she faced.
Four days later, Tomlinson struck out a career-high 10 in a five-inning 10-0 complete game-win over Dodge City, allowing just two hits.
The Blue Dragons host a 2 p.m. doubleheader Wednesday against Barton County Community College.
Hutchinson plays a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Pratt Community College.
Salthawk baseball team opens season with doubleheader split against Pratt
The Hutchinson High School varsity baseball team opened the season with a doubleheader split against Pratt Monday at Hobart-Detter Field at Carey Park in Hutchinson.
The Salthawks won the first game 10-2 and Pratt shut out Hutchinson 2-0 in Game 2.
The Hutchinson Salthawk baseball and softball teams play doubleheaders at Great Bend on Friday.
Pittsburg State women’s basketball team advances to NCAA II Final Four
The Pittsburg State women’s basketball team, featuring an all-Kansas lineup and a Kansas native head coach, advanced to their first NCAA Division II Final Four in school history.
The Gorillas defeated Lubbock Christian 66-55 in an Elite Eight quarterfinal game Monday night in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Halstead High School alumnus Karenna Gerber led the Gorillas with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Grace Pyle (McPherson) added 16 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Maycee James (Goddard) scored 11 points and Sydney Holmes (Maize) scored 7 points. Harper Schreiner (Eudora) contributed 2 assists.
The Gorillas’ head coach is Girard High School alumnus Amanda Davied.
No. 4-seed Pittsburg State improved to 33-3 on the season and will play in the NCAA II Women’s Final Four semifinals on Wednesday against No. 1 Grand Valley State, which defeated Gannon 60-32 in the Elite Eight.
Tip-off for the Pittsburg State-Grand Valley State semifinal is 8:30 p.m. Eastern time/7:30 p.m. Central time.
The Pittsburg State-Grand Valley State semifinal follow the Union (Tenn.)-California State-Dominguez Hills semifinal, which starts at 6 p.m. Eastern time/5 p.m. Central time.
In other Elite Eight quarterfinal games, Union defeated Bentley 80-66 and CS-Dominguez Hills defeated Coker 82-66.