The USC Salkehatchie men’s basketball team capped a run through the Region 10 Tournament with a 69-58 victory over regular-season champion Caldwell Tech. The win earned the team a trip to the 32-team NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson, K.S. where they will face Hutchinson in the first round. It is Salkehatchie’s first trip to the men’s national tournament since 2020.
“What this young group was able to accomplish over the course of the season was nothing short of spectacular,” Head Coach Matt Lynch said. “Every coach in the country dreams about his team playing its best basketball in March. I’m living that dream.”
The team celebrated by cutting down the nets after the game. With the wire-to-wire victory Salkehatchie improved to 20-13.
Salkehatchie, which had the youngest team in the conference with a freshman-only roster, came together down the stretch, winning its final three games of the regular season, including a dominant win over Caldwell Tech two weeks ago.
“Fourteen freshmen have won 6 games in a row (and 8 out of the last 10), with 2 of those wins coming against a nationally ranked opponent in Caldwell Tech. Our guys deserve all the credit for the work they put in and the resiliency they have shown throughout the grind that is a college basketball season,” Lynch said.
Salkehatchie seized control of the game early and carried a 36-24 lead into the half. Unlike the previous meeting, Caldwell Tech surged back into the game. But Salkehatchie answered each run with one of its own.
Caldwell Tech sliced the lead to 61-55 but would get no closer as Salkehatchie, which overcame injury and foul trouble, made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 90 seconds to seal the victory.
Salkehatchie defeated Brunswick and Richard Bland in the first and second rounds of the Region 10 tournament to reach the final.
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