For today's Year in Review, we stick with Coffeyville Community College and its basketball programs.

 

The Coffeyville men's basketball team earned its first national championship in 49 years in 2021, overcoming a conference rival in the deciding game.

 

The Red Ravens had been dominant all season long, and had ranked in the top 5 nationally for much of the year. They did, however, face a tad bit of adversity coming into the national tournament. In the Region VI tournament preceding, the team had been upset by Hutchinson, and therefore needed an at-large bid to participate. But seeding only matters if you let it, and after dispatching 23-seed Southwestern Tennessee and 7-seed Odessa, the Red Ravens upset 2-seed NOC-Tonkawa and 6-seed Chipola to reach the national championship game.

 

For the final game, the Ravens faced a familiar foe in Cowley College. The Tigers, running a run-and-gun offense that had frustrated opponents all season long, and were one of the top-scoring teams in the nation. Coffeyville itself had only been able to split the regular season series, one of just three losses the team took that year. The game itself was a classic offense vs. defense matchup, as the Ravens tried to slow down Cowley's relentless press. At first, it seemed smooth sailing, with a 60-40 halftime lead putting Coffeyville in a good spot. However, as Cowley had been prone to do all year long, the Tigers caught fire out of the break and brought it back to just 3 points with 5 minutes to go.

 

The Red Ravens wouldn't be denied though. After a clutch defensive stop, free throws were made and the game was sealed. For head coach Jay Herkelman, it was his first national championship in 25 years at Coffeyville. He'd come close before, even finishing as runners-up in 2002, but finally got over the hump with a great group of players. He spoke of the importance of the years prior after the monumental victory.

 

Several players from that 2020-21 roster are now playing at the Division I level. Tylor Perry is currently the leading scorer for the North Texas Mean Green, while Markeith Browning (Milwaukee), Hayden Brittingham (UT-Arlington) and Bostyn Holt (Utah) also moved on to bigger things. Blaise Keita, who returned for another season at CCC, has already committed to play at Nebraska.

 

Tomorrow, we'll revisit the 2021 spring football season.