Riverland Community College Blue Devils men’s basketball team 4th at NJCAA Division III Tournament

After a late rally from a 13-point deficit fell just short versus Herkimer, New York College in the NJCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament semifinals Friday night, the No. 10 seeded Riverland Community College Blue Devils took on the No. 5 seeded Brookdale Community College Patriots in the third-place game Saturday, and it was the Patriots going on a 19-4 first half run that gave them a lead they would not relinquish as they downed the Blue Devils 86-67.

Two free throws and a 3-pointer from forward Savier McCall and a layup from Christian Campbell gave Riverland an early 7-3 lead, but the Patriots were able to work their way in front 13-9 before going on the 19-4 run to open up a 32-13 lead.  Brookdale was able to open up a lead as large as 25 points at 42-17 before heading into halftime with a 42-21 lead, and although the Blue Devils outscored the Patriots 46-44 in the second half, the big halftime deficit unfortunately proved too large to overcome.

Savier McCall led the Blue Devils offensively Saturday with 18 points, Christian Campbell tallied 14 points, DeWayne Thompson and Jose Yepez both scored eight points apiece, Nazih Chehade chipped in seven points, Daeshawn Jackson totaled six points, Damar Jenkins provided three points off the bench,  and Avery Weddle scored one point.  Brookdale forward Manny Bell led all scorers in the game with 20 points, and the Patriots had four other players in double figures in scoring for the contest as well.

Riverland winds up a fantastic season with a record of 31-4, and in the championship game, No. 1 seed Dallas College-North Lake defeated host Herkimer College 74-61 to claim the title.