Blazers Get by Bears for Second Straight Unbeaten Conference Season

IRVING, Texas – Dallas College North Lake men's basketball team overcame a battle with gritty Dallas College Brookhaven to win the regular season finale Saturday, 83-81, in the Blazer Dome.

With the victory, the No. 2 nationally-ranked Blazers went unbeaten in Dallas Athletic Conference play for the second straight season. North Lake (24-4, 10-0 DAC) went unbeaten at home in the regular season for the second straight year. The Blazers were 13-0 at home this season.

North Lake will host the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III semifinals and championship games Thursday and Saturday. The Blazers will meet the lowest remaining seed after Tuesday's quarterfinals at Dallas College Eastfield in Thursday's 6 p.m. first semifinal.

Brookhaven's Curtis Trey Moffett sank two free throws, following a block by Jackson Lino to give the Bears (14-14, 3-7) a two-point lead with 2:00 to play. Blazers forward Anden Holmes sank two free throws to tie it at the 1:05 mark. Holmes, who finished with 20 points, hit two more from the stripe to give North Lake an 82-80 lead with 25 seconds remaining. Moffett split a pair from the line to pull the Bears within one with 16 seconds on the clock. Four seconds later, North Lake guard Randy Woolf split a pair at the line to make it a two-point game. Brookhaven's shot at the buzzer was off the mark, and the B  lazers survived.

It was the second straight game at home North Lake won by an 83-81 verdict. The Blazers overcame Dallas College Cedar Valley by the same score Feb. 14.

North Lake's Jakob Zenon scored 16 points. Ring Deng had 13 points, and Woolf 11. Daylen Webb finished with eight, and Autavius Hobbs seven.

Brookhaven's Jackson Lino finished with a game-high 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting, nine rebounds and three blocks. Aaron Ovalle had 20 points, going 6 of 12 from the 3-point line, and had two steals. Terrell Palmer had 13 points on 6 of 10 field goals and two steals. Grant Jessen had seven points, eight boards and two steals.

The Bears shot 52 percent from the field, going 30 of 58. They were 10 of 21 from downtown. North Lake was 24-for-31 from the free throw line. Brookhaven went 11-for-19.

Saturday's victory was the third conference win decided by four points or less for the Blazers. It was their fifth win decided by single digits.

North Lake enters the postseason district tournament as the No. 1 seed for the third straight year.