DANVILLE — The Danville Area Community College men’s basketball team had a lot of pressure and support going into its first game at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The hosting team of the tournament was the No. 7 seed and was going against a No. 10 seed in Mid Michigan that had the potential to get hot at anytime and a crowd of people at the Mary Miller Center that was mostly cheering for the Jaguars.
But the Jaguars had strong play throughout in getting the 85-68 win over the Lakers.
Defense was a big start because DACC held Mid Michigan scoreless for almost five minutes to start the first half and four to start the second half.
“I know we did for the first half and that was the emphasis for this team,” DACC head coach DaJuan Gouard said. “They shoot 30-40 3’s a game and we did a good job of running them off the 3-point line and making it tough for them to make a shot. They can get going in a hurry and to be up by 10 on this team is never safe because they could hit some 3’s and they can make a lead go from 10 to 1 real quick. They missed some shots and I think the guys did a good job of getting to the shooters as well.”
For most of the first half, it was inside play and it was a showcase for redshirt freshman Jeremy Wilson, who had 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first as the Jaguars built a 41-29 halftime lead.
“I just wanted to be there for my team because I owed my teammates and the fans and I owe everyone,” Wilson said. “You have give credit to Coach G because he is up watching film and getting prepared. He told us about how they shoot 3’s and told us that they want to play fast and we bought into that”
“Jeremy played a phenomenal game,” Gouard said. “We wanted to go inside of those guys and we wanted to go inside on those guys and Jeremy accepted the challenge. We had four guys in double figures and had 15 assists. We just had great shots and we were able to knock them down.”
Knocking shots down became more of a thing in the second half as Blake Reed had 12 points of his 17 points in the half and Jordan Dickson had 11 of his 13 points in the second half as well.
“In the first half, I was feeling good but I was in foul trouble so I hit a couple of shots,” Reed said. “The whole team always tell me to keep shooting and perfect my craft and when I get open shots, I take them. We knew they were going to double team the post and I would be at the opposite side taking shots. They were wide open and I am never going to try missing an wide open shot.”
“He had been in a shooting slump and I hope this keeps going the rest of his time at DACC,” Gouard said about the sophomore guard. “When they had no answer for us in the paint, they went into the zone and he shot them out of the zone. He was a zonebuster for us tonight and helped us with a big dub and 17 points off the bench is great.”
DeShawn Clark had 14 points, four assists and two steals for DACC, while Jerimiah Poniewaz had eight. Wilson had 13 rebounds and two blocks and Dickson had seven rebounds and six assists.
To play in front of a packed gym was also the boost the team needed and they made the most of it.
I told our guys going into the game that it was the biggest crowd they will play in and I told them to not get nervous have fun, let their hair down and get the job done,” Gouard said. “I think our guys did that and in the second half, guys like Blake were knocking their shots down because it was at their home court and the felt comfortable and it plays a big part in hosting the tournament.
“Last year, there were no fans at all, but this year we have been winning and to come out and fill the building up and about 95 percent of them going for us,” Reed said. “It meant a lot and I hope we put a great show for them and we cared that they came.
“It was a big moment. I wanted to help the team in a big moment and we all stepped up and got the dub,” Wilson said. “Not one of us slacked, we all stayed connected and played defense.”
The Jaguars are 26-4 and faced No. 2 Palm Beach State College in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. A win takes them to Friday’s semifinals while a loss puts them in a consolation game at 1 p.m. on Friday.
“We have to sit down and watch these guys and I have from 10 p.m.-9 a.m. to come up with a game plan that we can use,” Gouard said before Palm Beach beat SUNY-Orange 88-66. “The turnaround is quick, but whoever wins has a shorter time to turnaround. Right now, it is about doing everything we do very well and compete at a high level.”
“I like it. We have been doing that through the season with quick turnaround practices to get ready because we manifested that we would be here,” Reed said. “We would have open gyms to get ready for the season. We are a deep team and that favors us more than most teams.”
Zack Parks had 25 points and Amonti Green added 23 for Mid-Michigan, who are 25-7 and will play SUNY-Orange today in the consolation bracket.