By James Howey, sports edtior, jhowey@jccc.edu
The Cavaliers achieved the ultimate team goal in true Hollywood style Saturday night. The squad won the NJCAA National championship over Parkland Community College, 66-64 on Alexis Brown’s game winning buzzer beater shot in front of a packed house. “Lexis Legacy” is what long time team supporter Brody Fuentes nicked named the shot. When that shot happened, the Cavs massive student section erupted and stormed the court in utter bedlam.
The game was an absolute twelve round brawl. When one team would make a great play the other would respond with a play to match. All through the game everyone watching could see this would go right down to the wire. Sometimes a championship game doesn’t always live up to the hype; well this one far exceeded the hype. The game was a reminder of why people love sports. Both teams were fighting, scratching, and doing everything they could to come out on top. Being able to win a championship in that fashion on your own home court is something most teams or players never get to do.
The Cavaliers also had three players who were voted onto the all-tournament team. Nieka Wheeler, Erica Nelson, and Brown were the three Cavs to receive that honor. Wheeler was also voted tournament MVP. Wheeler averaged 19.5 points and eight rebounds in the tournament. Cavs head coach Ben Conrad won his first ever National title, his 300th career game, and was named coach of the tournament.
This instant classic will forever live in the lore of Johnson County and this college. The championship helps validate the legacy of one of the top programs in the junior college landscape. Winning a championship takes luck, guts, and, a lot of hustle. All three of those traits were shown by the Cavs in the last month of the season, and that paid off with a dream becoming reality on Saturday night