Supply, NC - For the third time in six years, the Cape Fear Community College men's basketball team advanced to National Junior College Athletic Association Championships by clinching the Region 10 Tournament. The Sea Devils defeated Brunswick Community College 99-89 in the conference finals at BCC on Saturday afternoon to move onto the national tournament for the third time in program history.

 "I think today's win speaks volumes for where our program is right now," said CFCC Coach Ryan Mantlo. "We have such great support from the school, from the president on down to our athletic department; we are committed to doing the right thing on and off the court and it shows."

For the second time in as many days, Cape Fear bounced back from a sluggish start and trailed the Dolphins by as many as 11 early in the first half after Brunswick went on a 15-2 run over the opening 10 minutes.

"I think  I burned two timeouts early and told the guys that we shouldn't panic," said Mantlo. "And they responded. They've shown such great resiliency all year and it's really been fun to coach these guys."

The Sea Devils closed the gap to 42-38 at the break and went on a 13-4 push to start the second half. Cape Fear took a 64-61 lead with 10:30 to go in the game and never looked back.

 "We did a great job of making adjustments at the half," said Mantlo. "We handled ball screens, played at a faster pace and it benefited us early in that second half."

CFCC will have a week layoff before traveling to Hutchinson, Kansas for the National Tournament March 17-22.

"Honestly, I'm going to let this soak in a little bit and we'll figure out the schedule tomorrow," said Mantlo. "We'll likely take a day Monday to catch our breath, but it's really been awesome to see our guys buy in to what we like to do. They have grown so much throughout the year, and it's definitely been a pleasure to watch these guys grow from freshman to veteran like players down the stretch. 

Courtesy of Joe Catenacci