Richland Pulls Away from North Lake to Reach National Championship

PHOTOS 

HERKIMER, N.Y. – Dallas College Richland men's basketball team will play for a national championship Saturday.

The fourth-ranked Thunderducks pulled away down the stretch from No. 6 Dallas College North Lake for a 67-59 win in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III semifinals at Herkimer College.

Richland (23-9) will play No. 2 Northern Essex Community College (32-3) in the championship 4 p.m. CT Saturday. The Thunderducks are seeking their fourth title and first since 2015.

The Blazers (23-11) will meet No. 1 Salem Community College (31-3) in the third place game at 1 p.m. CT.

Richland's Andrew Huntley had 15 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Dre Rutledge had 16 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Joubron Bebe shot 5 of 8 from the floor for 12 points, and Tyler Johnson had nine points, four rebounds and two steals.

North Lake's Zach Thompson had 18 points to lead all scorers, and grabbed eight rebounds to go along with a block and a steal. He was 8 of 12 from the field. Romiel Carter had 10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Zaedyn Owens had eight points, five rebounds and a steal.

It was a game that featured 16 ties and 14 lead changes where neither side ever had a double-digit lead. The Thunderducks' largest lead of eight came in the closing seconds, while the Blazers led by six with 16:23 to play.

Jordan Edwards' offensive putback with 5:37 to play gave the Blazers a 51-49 lead. Huntley hit a three-pointer on Richland's next possession to swing the lead back to the Thunderducks. Huntley's 3 started a 9-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back buckets by Bebe over a 16-second span, that gave Richland a seven-point lead with 2:59 to play.

Thompson scored with 1:17 to play as the Blazers cut it to 59-57. But Rutledge answered on the next possession, Tyler Johnson sank two free throws and Bebe threw down a dunk on a pass from Cedric Dent to put the Thunderducks up eight with 19 seconds left to send Richland to the title game.

North Lake outscored Richland 42-26 in the paint, and had a 20-10 advantage in points off turnovers. The Thunderducks outrebounded the Blazers 46-38.

Rutledge scored 14 points in the second half, knocking down 6 of 12 field goals.