COON RAPIDS — The Rochester Community and Technical College men’s basketball team is going to the Division III NJCAA National Tournament.
The Yellowjackets clinched a berth in the upcoming event in New York on March 14-18 with a 79-69 victory over Mesabi Range in the Region XIII Tournament championship game on Sunday. RCTC had beaten Mesabi 86-77 during the regular season.
RCTC coach Brian LaPlante said it was "a hard-fought battle."
The Yellowjackets up by one with about three minutes to go before finishing the game on a 10-1 run.
Kameron Givens had a huge game for RCTC with 29 points, five rebounds and three steals. The guard made 12 of 18 shots from the floor.
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Lourdes grad Peyton Dunham also had a big game for the Yellowjackets. He scored 14 points and pulled down a whopping 18 rebounds. The sophomore forward made 6 of 12 shots and added four assists before fouling out late in the game.
Quincy Burland came off the bench to score 12 points and grab eight rebounds for RCTC while Quest McCrimon added 10 points.
The Yellowjackets shot 50.0% from the floor (28-for-56) and controlled the boards 45-35.
RCTC, the No. 1 seed from the South Division, led 45-36 at the half. The Yellowjackets held Mesabi (19-10) to 36.4% shooting (24-for-66).
The Yellowjackets will take a 20-7 record into the 12-team national tournament. The seeding for the tournament is expected on Monday, March 6. This marks the eighth time LaPlante has guided RCTC to the national tournament, the last time being in 2021. RCTC was the Division III national runner-ups in 2010, 2011 and 2016.
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