Greyhounds Fall in Final Minutes, Finish 8th in the Nation

A one-possession game with 3 1/2 minutes to go took a quick downturn as the Greyhounds fell to the Johnson County Community College Cavaliers 79-63 to finish 8th in the nation at the NJCAA National Tournament in Danville, Illinois.

After coming back from a 42-32 halftime deficit to tie the game 59-59 with 6:51 remaining on two Jailen Anderson free throws, ASU Mid-South was down 64-61 when the Cavaliers' Xavier Kahube drove the baseline and was called for an offensive foul as he tried to get to the basket through Jesse Washington who was knocked to the floor. Upon video review to check if a flagrant foul had occurred, the common foul call was illegally reversed and Kahube was given two free throws and a foul assessed to Washington for being "inside the cylinder" of the offensive player. Kahube made both free throws to give Johnson County a 66-61 lead with 3:32 left to play.

On the ensuing possession, Christian Thompson made a pass under the basket at the feet of O.J. Marrs who bent down and had possession of the ball, but upon doing so was knocked to the ground by Johnson County's Tymer Jackson and Marrs was called for traveling. Official Tyson Holden then turned to the Greyhound bench and told Head Coach Chris Parker not to say anything else to him. Parker, who had said nothing, stated exactly that and asked what the official was talking about. The official then pointed at the Greyhound head coach and said he heard Parker ask for a video review of the Marrs travel and that he wasn't going to tolerate comments like that. In the meantime, Tymer hit a layup to put the Cavaliers up 68-61 and as Parker was defending himself against the Official Tyson Holden's false accusation, Holden gave Parker a technical foul, Parker's first and only technical foul of the season.

Jackson Tymer made both free throws to give Johnson County a 70-61 lead with 2:29 remaining and trailed 72-63 when Jesse Washington was called for a loose-ball foul when he and Jackson were pursuing a rebound with 21 seconds left. Washington then helped Jackson off the floor as both players walked to line up for free throws. That's when official Ben Syroka turned toward Washington and assessed a technical foul which gave Washington his fifth personal foul of the game. Jackson made all four free throws to give the Cavaliers a 74-63 lead, and after a Greyhound miss with 12 seconds to play, Johnson County simply needed to hold the ball. However, after the Greyhounds began walking to the bench with just a few seconds left, Tymer Jackson dribbled to the right side and shot an uncontested three-pointer that went in at the buzzer to set the final count.

The Greyhounds held Johnson County to 41.4% shooting from the field and battled even on the boards, 33-33, but turned the ball over 21 times to the Cavaliers' 15 while shooting just 4-of-17 (23.5%) from the three-point line to Johnson County's 8-of-19 (42.1%). The Cavaliers also hit 23-of-26 (88.5%) of their free throws to the Greyhounds 15-of-22 (68.2%). Tymer Jackson led all scorers with 30 points after scoring 9 in the last 2:50, Ryan Gordon scored 13, and Massi Malterer chipped in 10 points off the bench.

When asked after the game about the turnovers, Parker said, "I think they were letting it go quite a bit...I think there were several times...calls were not made that maybe had been called in the previous three days. But that's gonna happen..." Regarding his only technical foul of the season, Parker replied, "That's the first time this season an official has been that unprofessional to point directly at me and basically call me a liar. I'm not going to admit saying something I didn't say, but he wasn't interested in the truth or talking about it." And when asked about the ending of the game, Parker simply replied, "We teach that when the opponent concedes the game in the closing seconds then we will simply hold the ball. We feel that's good sportsmanship, but I understand that not everyone teaches that."

Christian Thompson led the Greyhound effort with 18 points and 7 rebounds while Jesse Washington scored 16 points. Braxtyn McCuien finished with 11 points and a game-high 9 rebounds, Jailen Anderson scored 9 points, and O.J. Marrs tallied a game-high 6 assists.

"The way the game ended does not take away from the fact that we were among the top eight teams in the nation this season," Parker said. "I'm proud of these young men who proved that we are a nationally-competitive program, and they have certainly earned that distinction. I am thankful for their hard work and determination in winning a Region Championship, a District Championship, and placing at the National Tournament for the second time in the last five tournaments. This team has secured their legacy at ASU Mid-South."

The Greyhounds finish the season with an overall record of 25-12 and captured the Region 2 regular season and tournament championships, the Central Plains District Championship, and finished the NJCAA National Tournament placing 8th in the nation after being seeded 14th out of 16 teams.