Trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, the Cape Fear Community College men's basketball team came storming back in the final 20 minutes of regulation to rally past No. 10 John A. Logan College 76-66 in the final game on day one of the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships (NJCAA) in Hutchinson, Kansas on Monday night.
Anthony Vanhook scored 13 of his team-high 17 points after the break for the Sea Devils before he fouled out with 3:39 remaining.
The sophomore was in foul trouble for most of the ballgame after picking up two quick infractions to start the contest, but with Cape Fear down by eight at halftime, Vanhook scored the first seven points of the second period to get the Sea Devils within one.
John A. Logan answered the push and regained a 40-33 advantage when Cordea Wilson drained a big three-pointer from the left wing for the Sea Devils to spark seven straight points for Wilson to tie the game.
With Cape Fear in front for the first time at 51-50, the Sea Devils eventually took control with 10 minutes left as Vanhook returned to the ballgame after nearly six minutes on the bench.
The sophomore found Aaron Thomas for the assist to make it 55-52 with less than eight minutes to play and Demetrus Abrams knocked down a 14-foot jumper seconds later to give Cape Fear a 57-54 edge.
Vanhook followed with an offensive rebound and put back as Cape Fear used an 8-0 run to secure the victory.
After committing eight turnovers in the first half, the Sea Devils turned the ball over just three times in the final 20 minutes of play.
Wilson finished with 16 points and Abrams added 14 as Cape Fear overcame a slow start offensively and shot 40.3 percent for the game, with 12 team assists and 14 steals.
The Bulldogs held a 51-38 rebounding advantage, but Calvin Davis provided 11 points off the bench for the Sea Devils to put four different players in double figures. John A. Logan went just 1-of-15 from three-point range.
Cape Fear opened the 24 team, single elimination event as the 23-seed and face No. 7 Northwest at 2 p.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, March 18 in round two of the NJCAA Tournament. Watch every game of the tournament at www.njcaatv.com