North Lake Earns No. 1 Overall Seed in NJCAA DIII Tournament
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dallas College North Lake men's basketball team received the No. 1 overall seed in next week's National Junior College Athletic Association Division III National Tournament in Herkimer, New York.
"It's a good feeling coming in (as the) No. 1 seed in the tournament," North Lake sophomore guard Bryson Smith said. "Just getting that bye. Coach (Josh Mills) was telling us that's always important to get the No. 1 seed because a team that's won a national championship has never won four straight. So that's good to know we got the No. 1 seed."
The Blazers (26-4) are headed to their third straight national tournament, and received a first round bye in the 12-team field. North Lake will play the winner of eighth-seeded Fulton Montgomery Community College (25-4) and ninth-seeded Sandhills Community College (24-8) in the quarterfinals 1 p.m. CT Thursday, March 14 at Herkimer College.
"We're very motivated," said North Lake sophomore guard Jakob Zenon, who was a member of last year's team that lost two games at the national tournament at Herkimer. "We've had two very good teams, and we're just looking to finish the job now."
North Lake won the 2022 NJCAA Division III National Championship in Rockford, Illinois. It was the fourth national title for the Blazers, which is tied for the most in NJCAA Division III history. North Lake also won the 2017, 2008 and 2006 championships. Last year, the Blazers tied for seventh.
The Blazers will be making their ninth appearance in the national tournament, and have a 17-6 overall record.
"Just staying in the gym this whole week, and just trusting our work for the next week, I think we'll be good," Zenon said.
North Lake is coming off a 65-59 win over eighth-ranked Dallas College Richland in the South Central District championship game Saturday. The Blazers have won 20 in a row, and went unbeaten at home for the second straight season. They were 15-0 in the Blazer Dome this season.
"We just need to bring the intensity, stay focused and get back to what we were doing in the first half of the semester, being the hunter, and just bringing that energy and the morale to the team," said Smith, a transfer from Temple College. "Coming here and just winning, it's a lot of fun being around great guys and being around Coach Mills, being a great coach, always coaching us up and holding us accountable. It's just great to be here, around a winning culture."
Mills will be taking his second straight team to the national tournament after taking over the program last year. He was an assistant to Hall of Fame coach Tim McGraw on the first and most recent national championship teams at North Lake.
"We have a few guys that are back this year, and they're hungry," Mills said in an interview with the NJCAA Network's Zach McKinstry on the Selection Show. "Hopefully we can have a really competitive tournament. I know there's a lot of really good teams. I've heard this should be one of the best tournaments yet, so we're looking to go up there, have some fun and compete."