Hutchinson, Kansas- The glass slipper is strapped on tight for the Connors State College Cowboys.
The No. 17-seed Cowboys rallied from 12 points down with 5:05 left to defeat No. 8 Daytona State Wednesday 66-65 in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Connors advances to the semifinals for the second straight year.
The difference in the first half was minimal as Connors trailed 3025 at intermission. The Cowboys converted 11 of 30 (38.7%) shots to the Falcons’ 10-of-32 (31.3%) shooting. However, Daytona made three 3s to CSC’s two and converted seven free throws of Connors’ four.
The second half started in the Cowboys favor and they scored the first five points of the half to tie the score at 30-30 with 18:17 left in the half. But the Falcons went on a run of their own, scoring seven straight to retake the lead 37-30.
Connors came right back and with 14:54 to go had completed a 7-0 spurt to tie the score at 37-37.
The see-saw then tilted in favor of the Falcons as they found their range from beyond the arc, hitting three 3s while dropping in two two-point buckets to get out to a 50-42 lead with 11:08 remaining in regulation.
Daytona State kept up the hot shooting and with 5:05 left they led 61-49.
But the Cowboys put on a rally. After a flagrant foul was called against a Daytona player, Jeremiah Johnson made two free throws and Monday’s hero DJ Dormu nailed a 3 from just outside the arc, and with 2:55 left, the Cowboys trailed 65-59.
At the 1:23 mark, Edwin Daniel hit a 3 and the deficit was cut to 65-62. And with 38.3 to go, Dormu nailed a three from the left wing to tie the score at 65-65.
With 7.2 seconds left, Daniel was fouled and made one of two free throws. The second attempt bounced off the rim and Daniel grabbed the rebound and was fouled again with 5.9 left.
This time he missed both and Daytona, with no time outs, dribbled the length of the floor but missed the final shot as the Cowboys moved on.
Daniel led the Cowboys with 17 points, while Dormu had 15 points and Aric Walls finished with 13 points. As a team, Connors shot 41.8% (23 of 55) from the field while Daytona State made 38.1% of its shots (24 of 63).
