[Men's Basketball] 3rd Time's a Charm for Warriors
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mic.--After losing two very close regular season contests to Indiana Tech during the regular season, Rochester College took their revenge in the semifinal game of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament. RC beat the #2 seed, Indiana Tech, 84-68 to advance to the conference tournament championship game.
All five of RC's starters scored in double figures led by Armand Cartwright's (Bloomfield, Mich./Bloomfield HS) game-high 26 points. Cartwright's hot shooting paced the Warriors as he connected on 10 of 14 shots including 3-5 from three-point land. He had help from his teammates, including Kash Blackwell (Cleveland, OH/Cuyahoga CC) and Andrew Kline (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) who each added 13 points. Kline also pulled down 8 rebounds. Justin Nafso (Walled Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) added 12 points as did Peter Agba (Owerri, Nigeria/University of Akron) who also hauled in 7 rebounds.
"It was a team effort as our attack was so balanced both in scoring and minutes played, but our toughness was the difference," said head coach Klint Pleasant. "I am extremely proud of the way our guys carried themselves and their defensive intensity. On the offensive end, we moved the ball well and manufactured goods look, and guys stepped up and knocked them down."
RC connected on 11 of 20 three points attempts for a sizzling 55% from behind the arc and held Indiana Tech to just 21.7% (5-23) from three. RC also shot 52.6% from the field and 76.5% from the free throw line.
The Warriors will travel to the University of Michigan-Dearborn for Monday's WHAC conference championship game and an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. Dearborn upset the #1 team in the NAIA, Cornerstone University, on Saturday afternoon in the other semifinal. Game time for Monday is set for 7:30 pm.