DANVILLE, IL - The Essex County College men's basketball team will open play in the 2013 NJCAA Division II basketball tournament on Tuesday March 19th when they face 6th seeded Brown Mackie College (KS) at 1pm.

Essex (25-6) captured the Region XIX championship with a victory over Mercer County Community College on March 2nd.

DISTRICT CHAMPIONS/TOURNAMENT QUALIFIERS
District 1 (Region 1): Phoenix College, Ariz. (20-12)
District 2 (Regions 3, 21): Monroe Community College, N.Y. (29-3)
District 3 (Region 4A): South Suburban College, Ill. (30-3)
District 4 (Region 4B): Moraine Valley Community College, Ill. (28-5)
District 5 (Region 6): Brown Mackie College, Kan. (26-5)
District 6 (Region 8, 10): Louisburg College, N.C. (32-1)
District 7 (Regions 9, 13): Central Community College-Columbus, Neb. (19-13)
District 8 (Region 11): Iowa Lakes Community College (26-6)
District 9 (Region 12W): Grand Rapids Community College, Mich. (21-8)
District 10 (Region 12E): Mott Community College, Mich. (29-3)
District 11 (Region 12S): Owens Community College, Ohio (24-8)
District 12 (Regions 15, 19): Essex County College, N.J. (25-6)
District 13 (Regions 2, 16): MCC-Penn Valley, Mo. (22-11)
District 14 (Region 20A): Cecil College, Md. (16-14)
District 15 (Region 20B): Howard Community College, Md. (16-12)
District 16 (Region 24): Rend Lake College, Ill. (26-3)

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY - Brookdale Community College (N.J.) won their first DIII men's basketball national championship Saturday with a 61-55 win over Eastfield College (Texas). The Jersey Blues became the first New Jersey school to win the DIII men's title since 1994.

Freshman forward Joe Nickerson (right, #30) led the way for Brookdale, scoring a game-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and added seven rebounds and two steals to the effort. Jersey Blues freshman guard David Rosado contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Amir Gilliam dished out a game-high 10 assists.

Trailing 44-43 with under eight minutes remaining, Nickerson and Rosado led the Jersey Blues on a 15-5 run to take a 58-49 lead with 3:33 to play. The Harvesters cut the deficit to five with 1:33 left but Brookdale's defense tightened up down the stretch to hold on for the 61-55 victory.

Nickerson was named Tournament MVP after putting up double-figures in scoring for all three of Brookdale's games. For the tournament, Nickerson averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Brookdale's victory in the championship improved their final record to 33-1 and capped off their 2012-13 campaign with a five-game win streak. Eastfield's loss dropped their record to 29-5 for the season.

Fans can relive all of the action from Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. by watching archived broadcasts of all 12 games on NJCAA TV. Visit the NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball National Championship Page for tournament awards, photos, stats and other information.

TOURNAMENT MVP
Joe Nickerson (Brookdale)

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jonathan Feiler (Herkimer County)
Boris Fodouop (MassBay)
Justyn Galloway (Rochester)
K.J. Jones (Caldwell Tech)
Mike Love (Eastfield)
Brandon Schwebke (Rock Valley)
Neil Thompson (Brookdale)
Willie Williams III (Sullivan County)

MOORE TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Ocean County College women's basketball team and the Brookdale men's basketball team will open play today in their respective NJCAA National Tournaments.

Ocean County captured the Division III Region XIX championship with a victory over Cumberland County College in the title game.  Ocean, seeded 8th, will face defending national champion Rock Valley College on Thursday at 1pm in Rochester, Minnesota.

Brookdale won their second consecutive Region XIX Division III title, defeating Northampton in the title game on March 2nd.  The Jersey Blues, ranked #1 in the country, will face Rochester Technical College at 5pm Thursday at Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, NY.