Elgin CC rolls to quarterfinal win at NJCAA nationals

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Sometimes you can learn a lot about teams during their pregame warmups. As the Elgin Community College Spartans went through pregame drills getting ready to face Brookdale Community College in the opening round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III tournament it was hard to tell they were prepping for a national tournament game.

While the Brookdale Jersey Blues were more vocal and animated at times during warmups, the Spartans (30-5) were businesslike in their approach. It turned out they would let their play speak volumes in an 82-53 win over Brookdale (27-9) in Thursday afternoon's opening round game.

"We talked about that before we came up here," said Elgin coach Reed Nosbisch. "Our guys basically said, 'we're not coming up here for a vacation.' We're coming up here to win."

The first bucket of the game would go to Homer Denson under the basket for a quick 2-0 Spartan lead. Brookdale's Austin Harris would tie the game at 2-2 with a layup before Juwan Stewart hit the first of what would be 7 made 3-pointers for the Spartans (7 of 14 treys) in the first half to up the lead to 5-2 for the Spartans.

Six-foot-five sophomore Stephen Moyer would drop in a 3 to give Elgin the lead at 8-2. Brookdale would go on a quick 6-0 run to tie the game at 8-all with 15:35 left in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Elgin left-hander Jordan Anderson would open things up inside for Denson, who threw down a huge slam dunk after a defender fell, giving the Spartans a 16-8 lead with Brookdale spending a timeout.

The rest of the first half featured more outside shooting and strong play down low from Denson. The Spartans led 45-21 at halftime, appearing to be well in control of the game.

Brookdale came out aggressively to start the second half, pushing the tempo and forcing Elgin turnovers. The Spartans saw a 21-point lead at halftime shrink to 52-41 with 11:23 to go in the game. However, that was as close as Brookdale would get. Nosbisch knew they'd make a run in the second half.

"We warned our guys about that," he said, "and we said (Brookdale) had nothing to lose at that point. They're physically stronger than we are and you could see that. Ultimately, we didn't back down in those last ten minutes and made free throws down the stretch. We defended and rebounded, and that's the key."

Four Spartans wound up in double figures. Stewart led the team with 17 points. Anderson finished with a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Denson added 16 points and 9 rebounds and Charles Sanders scored 15 points.

The Spartans cooled off from outside the arc in the second half but still finished 10-for-22 on 3-pointers. Elgin free throws kept Brookdale from getting closer than 9 points in the second half as the Spartans finished 20 of 26 from the stripe.

"We were harping on defense from the beginning," said Denson, who finished the night with 3 blocked shots and altered several more. "By watching the game film, we understood where we could take advantage. We switched from man to zone on defense, keeping them a little confused."

The Spartans will face the Herkimer County Community College Generals from New York in the semifinals. The Generals beat Nassau Community College 63-59 in the first round. The game tips off Friday at 5 p.m.