Eighth-seeded Kaskaskia defeated number five seed Lincoln Trail, 63-57, to reach Friday’s championship game of the NJCAA Central District Region 24 tournament at Rend Lake.
The Blue Devils got a 12-foot jumper from Terrell Galbreath with inside nine minutes to play that broke a 41-all tie and started an eight-point run to 49-41 KC edge.
The lead reached 57-48 with 4 ½ minutes to play before LTC (17-11) got within three points, 57-54, on a A.J. Belcher free throw with 2:03 left on the clock.
Following a Jerrod Mackey layup to up the lead to 59-54, Lincoln Trail missed a 3-point attempt and a layup off of a steal.
Myles Liddell countered in transition to give Kaskaskia a 61-54 advantage with 47-seconds to play.
Both teams started slowly before Lincoln Trail eked out a 26-24 halftime lead.
Liddell scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to lead KC while Lyonel Hodges added 17 points.
Jared Jackson topped Lincoln Trail with 17 points, Michael White scored 13 and Ty Williams netted twelve points.
Kaskaskia (18-14) is in the Region championship game for the first time since 2019 when the Blue Devils topped Wabash Valley, 68-66, to earn a trip to the NJCAA Finals.
John A Logan 101; Lake Land 82
Second-seeded John A. Logan, the 2023 NJCAA champs are one game away from a return trip to Hutchinson, Kan., after a 101-82 blow-out win over three seed Lake Land in the second semi-final at Rend Lake.
The Volunteers (22-9) bolted to a 53-27 halftime lead and matched baskets with the Lakers for the final twenty minutes.
JAL had five players in double figures led by Julian Norris, Jr, and Decarl Payne with 18 points each. Marcus Eaves scored 16 points while Taylor Smith and Dainen Rucker added thirteen points each.
Josh Bryant scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to pace 23-9 Lake Land. He was 11-12 from the free throw line.
Samuel Hincapie had 16 points and Sean Dekovachich put in fifteen.
Logan and Kaskaskia play at 7 p.m., CDT, (8 EDT) Friday in the championship game to advance to the national tournament beginning March 22.
Logan has reached the NJCAA tournament five times – 1995, 2015, 2021, 2022 and 2023 while Kaskaskia has appeared in the field six times – 1954, 1964, 1985, 1991, 1998 and 2019.
