Ten 3s Carry NWF over Vincennes 68-55, Raiders Heading to Final 4

HUTCHINSON, KS - The Northwest Florida Raiders are heading back to the Men's Final 4 as the Raiders defeated Vincennes University 68-55. The Raiders controlled the game for all 40 minutes, only surrendering the lead for a total of 15 seconds, getting ahead by as much as 16 points midway through the 2nd half. 

The forecast in Hutchinson, Kansas for the Raiders was a very high chance of raining 3s as Northwest Florida drained 10 3s, with Chad Baker-Mazara hitting 5 of his own. Baker-Mazara had a team-high 22 points on 7-13 shooting. Kasean Pryor and Marcus Niblack each chipped in 2 from beyond the arc. Marcus Niblack continued to find the open man as he led the Raiders with 8 assists. Tavion Banks was, yet again, efficient off the bench as he tallied 12 points on 5-6 from the field and 6 rebounds for Northwest Florida. 

Vincennes, the 15th seed in the tournament, was a very physical team that crashed the glass every possession. The Trailblazers won the rebounding category 41-37 and was able to tally up 23 second chance points. On top of that, they were able to get to the charity stripe 24 times compared to Northwest Florida's 8. However, the Trailblazers couldn't get the lid off the rim as they finished the night 19-63 (30.2%) from the field and 2-16 from 3.

Northwest Florida will take on the winner of #3 Odessa and #6 Indian Hills Friday, March 24th at 7:00 PM in the Final 4. Odessa and Indian Hills will tip-off at 8:00 PM tonight. Odessa is 30-3 this season and Indian Hills is 28-4. Northwest Florida and Indian Hills met earlier in the season in Ottumwa, Iowa with Indian Hills coming away with a 114-99 victory. At the time, NWF was ranked #1 in the country and Indian Hills was #2. Last year, Northwest Florida knocked off Indian Hills in the National Tournament en route to winning the championship.

For more information on the NJCAA National Tournament, visit NJCAA.org for all the latest scores and updates.