2003 NJCAA Division III
Men's National
Basketball Champions

Semi Final Game
                         
                                                                Halftime     FINAL
Suffolk County Community College            41             79
Montgomery College                                   26             70

   Suffolk County CC held off Montgomery College - Rockville's comeback attempts several times to advance to the national championship game with a 79-70 win in the first semifinal at the NJCAA Division III national tournament. Suffolk (31-1), which led by as much as 18 in the first half and 16 in the second, watched those leads dwindle into single digits. But every time Montgomery charged back, the Clippers forced errors to take control of the game again. With 1 minute, 45 seconds left in the game, Montgomery (22-11) closed the gap to four, 69-65, on a basket from Johan Matos. But Suffolk the blow and didn't stagger, converting 8-of-8 on the free throw line over the final 20 seconds to clinch its trip to the championship game. Charles Manning led Suffolk with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Tamien Trent had 16 points and nine rebounds. Marcele Street added 12 points and six boards, while Vernon Alonzo had 11 points. Matos led Montgomery with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Kweku Pesseh added 12 points and Tavares Cooper 12 points and six rebounds. Suffolk will play for the national championship at 8 p.m. at SUNY Delhi's Farrell Hall Gymnasium. Montgomery plays for third place at 6 p.m.
Box Scores:
Montgomery College - Rockville, Md. (70)
Dele Ojo 2-6 2-2 7; Kweku Pesseh 5-11 1-1 13; Brandon Macon 2-4 0-0 4; Michael Brenver 4-7 0-1 8; Tavares Cooper 6-9 0-2 12; Adrian Webster 0-0 0-0 0; Cory Burns 4-9 1-1 9; Johan Matos 7-15 2-2 17. Total: 30-61 6-9 70.

Suffolk County Community College, N.Y. (79)
Darrin Miller 3-6 0-1 8; Aaron Cummings 1-3 0-0 2; Russell Brereton 2-5 0-1 4; Tamien Trent 5-20 4-4 16; Charles Manning 6-9 6-6 21; Vernon Alonzo 5-6 1-2 11; Ronnie White 2-4 1-1 5; Marcele Street 5-8 2-2 12; Steve Murrer 0-0 0-0 0. Total: 29-61 14-17 79.

Halftime - Montgomery 26, Suffolk 41.
Three-point goals - Montgomery: Macon 0-1; Brevner 0-3; Burns 0-2; Ojo 1-2; Pesseh 2-6; Cooper 0-1; Matos 1-5. Suffolk: Street 0-1; Miller 2-3; Brereton 0-3; Trent 2-9; Manning 3-3; Cummings 0-1. Fouled out - Montgomery: Ojo. Rebounds - Montgomery 25 (Matos 7), Suffolk 37 (Manning 11). Assists - Montgomery 12 (Ojo 5), Suffolk 14 (Miller 6). Total fouls - Montgomery 20, Suffolk 13.
A – 404