Men's basketball wins FCSAA Division II championship for the first time since 1978

The Palm Beach State College Men's Basketball team hosted the FCSAA Championship trophy for the first time in 48 years as they cruised to an 81-55 victory over Pasco Hernando in the Division II championship game held in Jacksonville on Saturday, Feb. 28.  Last season, the Panthers, who are currently ranked #1 in the NJCAA Division II national rankings, finished runner up in the tournament.

That fact was not lost upon Head coach Tae Norwood, who was recognized as the FCSAA DII Men's Basketball Coach of the year, and was informed of the fact as he soaked in Saturday's win. Coach Norwood was born three months after the Panthers won their last championship.   

The Panthers entered the postseason with a 29-1 record and the NJCAA' s No. 1 ranking.  In the semi-final game on Friday, the Panthers had to rally late in the second half to pull off a 67-63 win against Gateway College. No such heroics were needed on Saturday as the Panthers never trailed. The Panthers raced off to a 10-2 lead in less than six minutes and finishing the first half on a 17-4 run, entering the locker room up 38-20 on their way to the 26 point win over the Bobcats.

Carter Mungin, Marvin Golf and Jovan Polavra were named to the all-tournament team, and Polvara was named tournament MVP.  Golf was named Region VIII Player of The Year right before and was joined by Mungin, Polavra, and Sam Wolff on the Region VIII All Conference Team.

The team now goes on to make their first appearance in the NJCAA DII Gulf South District Championship Game where they will play Coastal Alabama Community College-North at 3:30 p.m. in Bay Minette, Ala. on Saturday, March 7.

The game will be streamed on jockjive.com.