Coon Rapids, Mn: The second day of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament took place on Saturday, March 4th on the Coon Rapids campus of Anoka Ramsey Community College. With games tipping off as early as 10am, followed by Noon, 2pm and 4pm contests, spectators were treated to a full day of NJCAA men's hoops.
In the morning opener, Riverland rebounded from a tough loss the day before to hand Northland Community and Technical College a 76 - 75 setback. With the win, Riverland moves to 1-1 for the tournament and on to the consolation final on Sunday at 10am. NCTC concludes its season with a 22-6 overall record and a North Division best, 12-2 MCAC regular season mark.
At noon, North Division representative #4 Rainy River and Southern Division #3 seed St. Cloud Tech tangled in the other half of the consolation bracket. Rainy River found a way to play another day, winning 108 - 98 and advancing to the Consolation Championship game on Sunday. St. Cloud Tech wraps up it's 2016-17 campaign with a 20-7 regular season record and a 10-4 MCAC Southern Division ledger. Rainy River moves on to the face Riverland for the Consolation Championship tomorrow at 10am.
The 2pm match-up featured RCTC and Vermilion, with both squads looking to play their way into the MCAC Tournament Championship game. With a combined 900+ wins between the two head coaches, fans were treated to a back-and-forth affair, with Rochester outlasting Vermilion, 81-77. Although they came into the weekend as the #4 seed in the South, Rochester has dispatched two of the MCAC's best regular season squads on their way to the title game tomorrow, Sunday, March 5th at 2pm.
Last, but certainly not least, fans saw the final game of the day feature the host, #1 Anoka Ramsey and perennial North Division power Central Lakes. CLC coach Jim Russell earned his 400th win the night before against St. Cloud Tech. However, Anoka decided to make him wait to collect win 401, handing the Raiders a 101-to-81 loss. Anoka Ramsey earns a trip to the Championship game on their home court at 2pm Sunday, while Central Lakes will play for 3rd place at Noon against Vermilion.
Sunday, March 5th Schedule
2pm: Championship Game: #1 (South) Anoka Ramsey v. #4 (South) Rochester CTC
Noon: 3rd Place Game: # 2 (North) Central Lakes v. #3 (North) Vermilion
10am: Consolation Championship: #2 (South) Riverland v. #4 (North) Rainy River
Story courtesy of MCAC Athletics