Men's basketball team's season ends in Elite Eight

The Eastern Florida State College men's basketball team lost to No. 2 South Plains 82-74 in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament Thursday in Hutchinson, Kansas.

South Plains came out shooting, hitting five 3-pointers in a row and eight in the first half to take a 45-29 lead into halftime.

But the No. 10 seed Titans fought back in the second half, going on a 14-4 run to cut the lead to four points with three minutes and 49 seconds remaining. A Jalen Warren three-point play cut it to three, 75-72 but the Titans could get no closer.

Warren had a big second half in his final game for the Titans, scoring 15 of his team-high 21 points in the second half. Sophomores Ayo Dada and Junior Madut each had 11 points along with freshman Jonathan Ned. Nick Stampley had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Titans who finished the season 28-8.

"Just proud beyond words of these guys. They exceeded all expectations," Eastern Florida State College men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman said. "They are just amazing. I'm almost in tears I love this team so much."

Eastern Florida State College is one of just four teams in the nation to be in the Elite Eight in each of the past three seasons.