Chris Jones is a man of his word.
With his team’s season on life support and facing a deficit that reached as many as 20 points, Jones walked to his team’s bench late in the second half at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, and said “We will not lose this game.”
He wasn’t kidding.
Behind 23 second half points from Jones and 15 from forward Elgin Cook, the Northwest Florida State College Raiders pulled off one of the most stunning comebacks in NJCAA Tournament history on Tuesday, finishing regulation on a 23-3 run to force overtime before pulling out an improbable 88-87 win over sixth-seeded New Mexico Junior College.
“That’s one of the most unbelievable games I’ve ever seen,” said Northwest Florida State head coach Steve Forbes, who watched his team come back from a double-digit deficit in the second half for the fourth time this season. “I’ve been saying this all year and people are probably tired of hearing it, but the one word that comes to my mind when I talk about this team is resilient.
“These guys never quit. You’ve got Chris Jones coming to the bench saying he’s not going out like this, you’ve got Tevin Glass out there making plays…It’s a team that just refuses to lose.”
The win, which sets up a Thursday meeting against No. 1 overall seed Iowa Western, prolongs Northwest Florida State’s season and stakes out a spot high on the list of the most memorable victories in program history.
In a game that New Mexico led by double figures for most of the contest, the Raiders trailed 72-52 with four minutes, 35 seconds to go in the game. The comeback started slowly, as back-to-back baskets by Cook and Glass cut the lead to 16 points at 72-56 with two minutes 56 seconds to play. That’s when the NWF State fullcourt press began to force turnovers that led to points. Glass scored six during the late run and Cook scored five, but it was Jones who took over down the stretch.
With his Raiders trailing 75-67 with 52 seconds to play, Jones scored the final eight points of regulation. He drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to five, then stole the inbounds pass and drilled another 3-pointer from the left corner, scoring six points in five second to cut the lead to 75-73. After another New Mexico turnover, Jones connected on a free-throw line jumper to tie the score at 75-75 with 26 seconds to play.
“He’s got something in his DNA that most players don’t have,” said Forbes of Jones. “He just will not lose. I’ve been coaching for 24 years and I haven’t seen anybody like him.”
After New Mexico failed to get a shot off on its last possession of regulation, the two teams went to overtime, where NWF State took con-trol early on a pair of baskets by Glass and Cook. Cook finished with 23 points – 15 in the second half – while Glass posted 16 points and 15 rebounds.
“Tevin was terrific,” said Forbes of the 6-foot-9 freshman from Alpharetta, Ga. “He helped create a lot of those turnovers because of his size and length in that press, and he hit some huge shots.”
Glass’s final basket of the day gave NWF State its biggest lead at 86-81 with two minutes remaining in overtime. After Jones made it 88-85 with a layup in the final minute, New Mexico would cut the lead to 88-87 before failing to put a shot up as time expired, setting off a raucous celebration for the Raiders.
After winning easily on Monday and escaping with a memorable win Tuesday, Northwest Florida State will now have a day off to prepare for Iowa Western. The two teams will tip off at noon on Thursday.
“We didn’t have a day off last year, so this is a good thing,” said Forbes, whose team made a run to the national title game a year ago. “This is a really good Iowa Western team, but we came here to win the national championship, and by coming back today we put ourselves in a position to do that.”
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Down 20, Raiders rally for national tournament win
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