Cardinals Reach First-Ever NJCAA Championship Game
(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title, Holt Wrecker, R&R lawn specialists, Gibson Pharmacy.)
By Benny Rogers/TVCC Sports Information
Photos by Travis Tapley
The Cardinals’ season became historic Friday night.
It can become epic today.
Turning in a defensive gem, the Cardinals cashed in with a 51-47 semifinal win against Panola at the 2025 NJCAA D1 MBB Tournament to earn their first-ever appearance in the championship game.
First-year head coach Greg Heiar’s Cardinals (33-3), the 33 wins tying a school record for wins in a season, are scheduled to take on the 17th-seeded Connors State College Cowboys (32-3) for the title in a 1 p.m. tipoff at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan. The Cardinals are the tournament’s seventh seed.
Today’s championship will be televised live on ESPNU.
While the Cardinals have taken care of business to reach the title game with wins against No. 23 Trinidad State, 92-60, No. 2 Cowley, 61-60, and No. 6 Panola, Connors State has strung together a wave of upsets. The Cowboys have knocked off No. 16 John A. Logan, 80-75, No. 1 Snow, 63-62, No. 8 Dayton State, 66-65, and No. 4 South Plains, 80-74.
The Cardinals’ ability to find the final piece of the puzzle to reach their first title game was no easy task against Panola. It was their fourth game against the Ponies, having dropped two of the first three. But the answer was in the defensive effort, which proved to be spot-on accurate.
The Cardinals smothered Panola guard Khoi Thurmon with attention, especially on his drives, and stalked the Ponies’ perimeter game. Thurmon finished with 19 points, but they were of the quiet variety. The Ponies were 5-of-29 from three-point range for 17.2 percent and turned the ball over 11 times.
The biggest thorn in the Ponies’ side was at the free throw line, where they were 6-of-17 for 35.3 percent. The Cardinals, meanwhile, were 13-of-16 for 81.3 percent.
The Cardinals, in addition to the defensive pressure, put mental pressure on the Ponies from the get-go, jumping out to a 9-0 lead, which grew to 11-1 and eventually 20-5. Panola never led.
The Cardinals were up 32-22 at the half.
Defense was especially key for the Cardinals in the second half. They went from the 7:23 mark to 3:18 to go in the game without scoring, yet they still led, 44-39.
Zati Loubaki scored five of his team-high 18 points in the remaining time, including three big free throws, and Tyler Smith drove in for a layup to enable the Cardinals to close the deal. Loubaki was 7-of-10 at the free throw line.
Garrett Nuckolls, who had two three-pointers in the first half to aid the Cardinals’ quick start, finished with 10 points.
Smith, 4-of-4 at the free throw line, closed with eight points. He also had seven assists.
The sum total of it all is the Cardinals have now ventured where the program has never been – the NJCAA championship game. They are one win away from becoming outright winningest HCJC/TVCC men’s basketball ever and earning a legacy of immortality with a first championship.
