Hutchinson, Kansas- Clutch defense. Clutch offense.
Put the two together and it spelled success for the Connors State Cowboys as they pulled off a major upset in the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament with a thrilling 67-61 win over third-seeded and third ranked Salt Lake Community College Tuesday night in Hutchinson, Kansas and advance to the tournament's Elite Eight.
It was all about defense in the first half after the Bruins got out to an early eight-point lead. Connors held Salt Lake to just 28 percent shooting from the field and 1-of-11 from 3-point land. and while the Cowboys didn't have an overwhelming offense, they still had enough to lead 29-22 at halftime.
The teams traded free throws with Tony Green knocking down two for Connors. With the clock down to 1:15 left, Bradyn Hubbard hit a put-back bucket to stretch the lead back to three at 61-58 and at the other end stood his ground taking a charge to give the ball back to the Cowboys with 1:00 left. Back on offense, freshman Buddy Hammer, who had the game of his life with 22 points, was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound with 31.4 seconds left and hit both charities to up the lead to five.
The Bruins came back with a free throw, but the Hammer was fouled again and hit two charities to make it 65-59 with 24.8 seconds left and the Cowboys hung at the end for the upset.
"We got off to a slow start, but we played outstanding defense in that first half and our guys are just so resilient and kept fighting back and got a nice first half lead," said Connors coach Bill Muse. "They had a reputation of being a good three-point shooting team and we held them to 1-of-11 in that first half and just four for the game. We didn't shoot nearly as well as we did Monday, but we made plays down the stretch."
Connors, the 19th seed in the tournament and a team that never broke into the national rankings, proved that they belonged in the tournament quarterfinals according to Muse.
"These guys have had a little bit of chip on their shoulders all season long. We've been underdogs the whole tournament, but these guys don't pay attention to any of that-they just want to go out and win," said Muse.
On a night when the 3s weren't falling for the Cowboys (4-of-15) they used the free throw line to get the win going 17-of-21 for the game. Hammer was the hammer for the Cowboys with 22 points, 10-of-12 from the line and seven rebounds to go along with his physical tenacity. Hubbard had 18 points, and Cooper added 11 while Green, as he did in Monday's opening win, was a big contributor on the glass with nine rebounds.