By Trinity Valley CC Sports Information
HUTCHINSON, Kan. - If the crown fits …
Not to worry, it fits just fine and the Cardinals will be wearing it for the next year as 2025 NJCAA D1 MBB champion after a 69-61 win Saturday afternoon against the Connors State Cowboys in their first-ever championship game appearance at Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan.
In claiming their first title, the Cardinals set a school record for wins in a season. They finished 34-3 to better the previous mark of 33 wins set by the Cardinal teams in 1982 and 2016.
"The season was a process and a long grind," first-year Cardinal coach Greg Heiar said afterwards. "These kids bought in and is one special group.
"I just can't say enough good things about them or how much they mean to me, and always will."
The title was the second for Heiar, who led Northwest Florida State to a championship in 2022. It was his fourth appearance in the title game, having also finished twice as national runnerup at Chipola.
Connors State, which made an amazing run to the title game as the No. 17 seed, including a 63-62 win against No. 1 Snow, ended the year 32-4.
After a tightly-contested first half, which resulted in a 32-32 tie at halftime, the seventh-seeded Cardinals slowly began to wrestle control in the second half. That was large in part to never letting up with their intense defensive approach and sophomore Garrett Nuckolls heating up. Nuckolls scored the Cardinals' first 11 points after intermission.
By the time there was 6:07 left in the game, the Cardinals had opened to a 51-41 lead. Connors State did not go away quietly, pulling with six, 57-51, with 1:01 to go.
The question then became, could the Cardinals be successful at free throw line?
Short answer: Yes.
The Cardinals were 10-of-13 from the stripe in the remaining time to close things out. They were 22-of-30 for the game.
Tournament MVP Zati Loubaki, who matched Nuckolls' 17 points, was 7-of-8 at the line. M.J. Wardlow was as well.
Loubaki also had four rebounds, three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
Along with Nuckolls, Tyler Smith was named to the all-tournament team. Smith had six points, four assists and three steals.
With just over 30 seconds to go, Heiar looked at his assistant coaches with a smile, as to say "we've got this."
Yes, they did. And they will have it forever.