2003 NJCAA Division III
Men's National
Basketball Champions

Championship Game
                                                                  Halftime    FINAL
Suffolk County Community College           25              61
College of DuPage                                      30              56

   Darrin Miller forced a turnover with 10 seconds remaining and then hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Suffolk County CC (32-1) its first NJCAA Division III national championship with 61-56 win over defending national champion College of DuPage (25-10). Suffolk opened up an 11-point lead early and looked like it was going to cruise to the title, but DuPage never stopped and ended the first half on a 14-0 run to take a 30-25 lead. But Suffolk wouldn't open up the inside to DuPage and the Chaparrals shot just 39 percent for the game. Suffolk trailed by seven early in the second half, but battled back and took a lead on a pair of free throws from Miller. It was a lead the Clippers wouldn't give up the rest of the way. Every time DuPage got close, Suffolk forced a turnover and pulled out ahead again. DuPage had 22 turnovers in the game, while Suffolk had just 15. Tournament MVP Charles Manning had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Marcele Street had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Vernon Alonzo had 10 points. Ben Curtis had 14 points and Stephen Davis had 13 for DuPage. Terrence McLemore had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Box Scores:
Suffolk County Community College, N.Y. (61)
Darrin Miller 1-3 3-4 6; Aaron Cummings 0-1 0-0 0; Amiel Thomas 0-1 0-0 0; Russell Brereton 3-13 0-0 6; Tamien Trent 3-14 0-2 8; Charles Manning 5-11 1-2 14; Vernon Alonzo 3-4 4-5 10; Ronnie White 1-2 0-0 2; Marcele Street 6-11 3-4 15; Steve Murrer 0-0 0-0 0. Total: 22-60 11-17 61.

College of DuPage, Ill. (56)
Ben Curtis 5-13 0-1 14; Stephen Davis 5-9 0-0 13; Terrence McLemore 2-8 5-6 10; Allen Young 0-1 0-0 0; Aaron Kramer 0-0 0-0 0; Cory Larde 3-8 0-0 6; Deanta Hollins 0-0 0-0 0; Corey Hutchinson 1-4 0-0 3; Joel Carter 4-7 0-0 8; Clarence Beard 0-1 0-0 0; Bryan Nadelhoffer 0-0 2-2 2. Total: 20-51 7-9 56.

Halftime - Suffolk 25, DuPage 30.
Three-point goals - Suffolk: Miller 1-2; Brereton 0-5; Trentt 2-11; Manning 3-7. DuPage: McLemore 1-3; Curtis 4-12; Davis 3-4; Hutchinson 1-3. Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Suffolk 33 (Street 12), DuPage 33 (McLemmore 13). Assists - Suffolk 10 (Miller, Trent 4), DuPage 6 (Curtis 3). Total fouls - Suffolk 17, DuPage 16.
A - 1,258

Defending national champion College of DuPage, Ill., (23-9) returns after winning the title in dramatic fashion last season. The trend seems to have continued for the Chaparrals as they knocked off sixth-ranked Joliet Junior College 66-65 in the region finals. DuPage was honorable mention in the final poll and head coach Don Klaas will be inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame next weekend. DuPage averages 70 points and gives up 63.

   Klaas said his team likes to try and break on offense, but stay in control. He said the offense and defense are similar to last season, but the team is a little smaller and a little quicker. Terrence McLemore leads the team with 18 points and 9 rebounds and last season's tournament MVP Steve Davis returns averaging 12 per game. Ben Curtis and Joe Carter each average 9 points, while Cory Larde averages 8 points and nearly 5 assists per game.