DANVILLE, Ill. – No. 12 Johnson County's hopes for a national championship were quickly dashed as No. 5 National Park defeated the Cavaliers 74-68 in the opening round of the 2024 NJCAA Division II National Tournament Mary Miller Gymnasium in Danville, Ill, Monday night.    

With the loss, Johnson County (28-6) drops into the consolation bracket and will face No. 4 Macomb (28-4) who were upset by No. 13 North Central Missouri earlier today. The opening tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST on Wednesday, March 20. 

Johnson County fell behind by six points after 20 minutes of play and trailed by 15 points just a little over two minutes into the second half before embarking on a 16-1 run to tie the game at 52-52 with 11:24 to play. 

JCCC took its first lead at 58-57 with 8:36 play on a Brandon Mann free throw, but 15 seconds later the Pirates regained the lead at 59-58 and never trailed again. 

The Cavaliers were led by freshman forward Donald Bangham, Jr., who poured in in second highest scoring effort of the season with 27 on 9-of-15 shooting with three 3-point baskets and 6-of-9 at the charity stripe. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had two steals.  His 27-point effort ranks as the third highest scoring game in JCCC tournament history.

Sophomore forward Kyler Mann followed with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also led the team with three steals and two assists. 

Rounding out the scoring for the Cavaliers were sophomore guard Massi Malterer and freshman forward Brandon Mann each with nine points, and sophomore guard Jordan Nichols with eight. 

All five starters for National Park (28-1) finished in double figures led by Nakavieon White with 23, followed by Taylor Harell with 14, Keryn Collins with 13, Patrick Punch with 11 and Ja'Bryant Hill with 10. 

The 2024 NJCAA Division 2 National Tournament will be streamed live by the NJCAA Network.