Rochester, Mn: The Minnesota College Athletic Conference recently concluded it's 2016-17 men's basketball season with the annual MCAC Tournament, which was conducted March 3rd-5th. The nation's top ranked NJCAA Division III program, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, served as both the host campus for the event and as one of the main stories throughout the tournament weekend.
With a regular season tipping off in November and a Divisonal schedule commencing in January, several programs rode the rollercoaster of the typical college basketball season in Minnesota. A handful of teams put together extended winning streaks, several suffered buzzer-beater losses and tough tie-breakers as programs jostled for position to be one of the top four in their North or South Divisions and ultimately gain entry to the MCAC State Tournament.
The top two regular-season programs; Northland CTC in the North and Anoka-Ramsey in the South, followed similar scripts throughout their season. Both programs finished the MCAC divisional portion of their slate with identical 12-2 records, and Anoka become a fixture in NJCAA National rankings throughout the year. The Golden Rams twice earned #1 in the country recognition, and other MCAC teams, including St. Cloud Tech, RCTC and Central Lakes all were mentioned in the polls over the '16-17 campaign.
Mid-table teams in the MCAC also made their presence felt along the way. Ridgewater College, Minnesota West, Fond du Lac Tribal CC and Rainy River all were a part of the playoff discussion up to and including the last week of Divisional games. In the South, Ridgewater lost a tiebreaker to RCTC for the #4 seed in the South, due to the Yellowjacket's mid-winter win over Anoka Ramsey. In the North, Fond du Lac found itself with a chance to play their way into the conference tournament for the the first time in the program's history, but feel just short in a season-ending loss to Rainy River. Riverland CC earned a #2 seed in the south based on their 11-3 divisional record, as did Central Lakes in the North.
Some notable coaching achievements were a part of the 2016-17 story as well. RCTC's Brian LaPlante earned his 400th career victory with a December win at home, while Central Lakes Jim Russell garnered his 400th win in the MCAC tournament with his team's 2OT triumph over St. Cloud Tech. Both LaPlante and Russell may need a few more seasons to catch Vermilion's Paul McDonald, who tallied his 500th victory in a February contest over Central Lakes.
In late February, the tournament seeds fell in line in the North with #1 NCTC, #2 Central Lakes, #3 Vermilion and #4 Rainy River, while the South sent #1 Anoka, #2 Riverland, #3 St. Cloud Tech and #4 RCTC to Coon Rapids. Rochester provided the Cinderella story for the competition, dispatching Northland Tech and Vermilion en route to the Championship game. However, Anoka Ramsey had the answer for RCTC, as the Golden Rams won the Tournament championship, and the NJCAA National Tournament bid, with a comfortable 100-83 win.
Complete stats, standings, awards and additional information available at: www.mcacsports.org
This story courtesy of MCAC Sports.