WESTMORELAND, PA – The third seed Anne Arundel Community College men's basketball team stunned top seed Prince George's, 84-79, to claim the 2020 NJCAA Region XX Division III Championship Sunday afternoon at Westmoreland County Community College. Tournament Most Valuable Player Michael Cantrell recorded a double-double in the win.
The Region XX title marks the first for AACC since 2013 when the Riverhawks defeated CCAC on the Wild Cats' home court, 72-65. The Riverhawks (9-16) make their second-straight appearance in the District Tournament, traveling to Sandhills Community College to play the No. 1 ranked Flyers (30-2) on Saturday, February 29 at 1 pm.
Cantrell scored 17 points to go with 16 rebounds, six steals, and three assists in the win. Jamar Young added a game-high 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, with four rebounds and three assists. Keith Wyatt, Jr., chipped in with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, finishing just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Davon Jones rounded out the scoring with 18 points and five rebounds.
Much like the regular-season matchup between the two teams, today's game was a wild, back-and-forth affair with nine ties and 10 lead changes, and each team holding a double-digit lead at one point.
AACC came out hot, opening the game on a 20-7 run. The Owls chipped away at the lead, holding the Riverhawks scoreless for over four minutes in part of a 21-7 run to close the half.
AACC headed into the second half leading, 39-36, but Prince George's scored the first five points of the second half to take the lead, extending to a game-high 12-point advantage with a 10-0 run ending at the nine-minute mark.
Consecutive steals on three Owls' inbound plays shifted the momentum back in favor of the Riverhawks and allowed them to cut the lead back to four with 6:42 to play. AACC finally tied the game back up at 71-71 on a Cantrell free throw with under five left to go.
It was tight from then on with five lead changes until Jones sank a three-pointer at 1:13 to give AACC the lead for good. Wyatt and Chase hit two free throws over the final 12 seconds to ink the game, 84-79.
Both teams struggled at the free throw line with the Riverhawks shooting 47.1% (8-17), and the Owls hitting at just 38.5% (5-13). AACC outrebounded Prince George's, 47-41, and dumped in 24 points off the Owls' 21 turnovers.
Joining Cantrell on the All-Tournament Team was Young, who scored a career-high 32 points in Saturday's semifinal.
