It was Mustangs March Madness for the Men’s Basketball Team, after finishing sixth in the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III tournament, capping a historic 28-3 season.

Kelly Dunbar, Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, called the tournament a historic run and a big step forward for the Mustangs.

“We’re enormously proud to finish sixth place nationally with a first-year head coach,” she said. “The team exceeded our expectations, and we are thrilled with the results. This team is learning the importance of balancing athletics and being a student. Their hard work definitely paid off. On behalf of the entire Athletics Department, congratulations to the Men’s Basketball Team on a wonderful season this year.”

“I thought the tournament was fun and exciting,” said first-year Head Coach Koran Prince. Prince was named both the NJCAA North Atlantic District Coach of the Year and the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) Coach of the Year this season. “I thought it was great experience. A lot of the teams were really good, and they were tough. I think one thing that I learned was the physicality of the game is a lot different than what we experienced in the region.”

The players, he said, gained valuable experience from the tournament.

“They did pretty well,” he said. “I just think it was all new and they had to adjust to the physicality, keep a straight mind and continue to push through as they learn these new things.”

The team traveled to Herkimer, N.Y. for the tournament March 12-16 ranked fourth in the country, after defeating Brookdale Community College of Lindcroft, N.J. to win the Region XIX title. That win gave the Mustangs a first-round bye in the national tournament, but the two teams would face off again, this time with Jersey Blues coming out on top, with a disappointing 88-60 finish.

The Mustangs bounced back from the loss though, with a dominating 103-77 performance against the Flyers of Sandhills Community College from Southern Pines, N.C. Sean Emfinger, who was named to the national all-tournament team, led the Mustangs with 32 points, including 12 rebounds, and Cris Dinolfi, who was named most valuable player of the Region XIX tournament, and Baasil Saunders, who was named EPAC first team All-Conference and All-Region first team, combined for 31 points.

“The Sandhills game, everyone played,” said Nyere Miller, Assistant Director of Athletics for Recruitment. “Which is not always the case in a national tournament.”

Finally, the team faced the Knights from number two ranked Northern Essex Community College of Haverhill, Mass., for fifth place in the tournament. Outscoring the Knights 36-26 in the first half, the Mustangs ran out of gas in the second half losing by three for a 62-59 heartbreaking finish. Emfinger and Dinolfi combined for 29 points.

Miller said the tournament gave the team a lot of experience it will be able to build on in the future.

“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, losing the last game to Northern Essex, but they displayed so much,” said Miller. “The team got run down. We’ll use it as a learning tool. Looking at the roster, the players had never been in a national tournament. It makes you that much stronger. Core national tournament experience at an elite level. Not just top 12 in the country, but top six. They did a great job and it’ll be a building tool going forward.”