COLUMBIA STATE TO FACE TRITON TODAY AT NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

The Columbia State Chargers begin play today at the 2025 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketbaal Championship in Hutchinson (KS).  They are set to face Triton College out o fIl;linois.  Game time is set for 3pm EDT.  

The chargers received the #18 seed as the champions of the Appalchian District (TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII) while the Trojans, seeded 15th, received one of the eight at large bids for the tournament.

The Chargers currently sit at 27-4 on the year.  Columbia is led by Thaddeus "Trey" Johnson who averages 15 points a game.  Mahki Wright and Simeon Williams also average double digits with 11.3 and 10.8 points a game.  right leads the team in rebounds at 8.9 caroms a game while Jamison Glass averages 6.5 boards a contest.  Kenneth Ellis averages 3 assists a game while Johnson averages 2.3 a game.  As a team, the Chargers average 82.2 points a game, shooting 44.9% from the field (includes 32.4% from thre point range), 68.5% from the free throw line.  They average 54.6 rebounds a game and 15.1 assists a game.  They also average 12 steals a game and 7.5 blocks.

The Trojans stand at 28-5 on the year.  They won the NJCAA Region IV Championship but ost to Three rivers in the Midwest District Championship.  Triton averages 81.5 points a game.  They shoot 46.3% from the field (33.8% from 3-point range).  They make good on 68.7% of their free throws while averaging 36.9 rebounds and 16.1 assists a game.  They average 7.5 steals and 6.4 blocks a contest.

In the latest ranking, Triton was ranked 7th in the country while Columbia had just entered as the 23rd team in the country.  The winner of the contest will move on to face the #2 seed Cowley, the Plains District Champion (NJCAA Region VI) on Monday at 3:30pm EDT.