SLCC basketball: Bruins rally to grab gritty victory

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Salt Lake Community College men's team looked like it woke up on the wrong side of the basketball court Tuesday morning.

Playing in the NJCAA tournament's early game (10 a.m. local start), the fourth-ranked Bruins made uncharacteristic turnovers, looked sloppy, sluggish and half-asleep at times, and fell behind by 11 points toward the end of their first-round duel with Vincennes (Ind.) University.

Fortunately for SLCC's players, their Wheaties finally kicked in with about 6 1/2 minutes left.

That's when the Bruins finally wiped the sleep out of their eyes, ratcheted up their top-ranked defense, hit a string of clutch shots and kept their junior college championship hopes alive by rallying past the Trailblazers in a gutsy 65-61 come-from-behind victory.

SLCC (30-3) will face Southeastern Illinois College (28-6), a 63-57 winner over Paris (Texas) Junior College, in the NJCAA quarterfinals today at 5 p.m. in the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

"We didn't play very well. We just kind of gutted it out," said SLCC guard Brian Green, who led the Bruins with 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and four assists. "It shows a lot about our team. We play as a team. We've just got to keep playing as a team, keep believing in ourselves and hopefully we can keep winning."

The Bruins appeared consolation-bracket-bound when Vincennes guard Devon Dumes, who led all scorers with 21 points, drilled an NBA-range 3-pointer to put the Trailblazers up 58-47 with 6:30 remaining.

That bucket was seemingly a dagger. After falling behind by 10 earlier in the second half, SLCC had clawed back within two points only to see Vincennes' lead creep up again.

SLCC coach Norm Parrish called a timeout, and the quick break ended up being a turning point. though Parrish can't remember what he said. He just wanted his players to get in their offense, to toughen up their D but "mostly, to stop panicking."

Green, on the other hand, definitely recalled what he told his teammates.

"The toughest team," he barked at the Bruins, "will win."

And — after yawning and stretching — they did.

"We've just been talking the whole season that the toughest team wins," he added. "That's how we got there. That's how we play, and we weren't playing like that."