Combine a sizzling start with a grinding finish and you get a 61-54 victory for the Cardinals in their opening round game of the 2024 NJCAA MBB D1 Championship Tournament Sunday afternoon at Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS.

 

It took every bit of both for the 10th-seeded Cardinals to turn back the 23rd-seeded Georgia Highlands Chargers and earn the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the 24-team event. First-year head coach Marty Levinson's Cardinals (27-7) are scheduled to next face No. 7 Triton (31-2) Monday at 9:30 p.m.

 

Now about the start.

 

Sophomore scoring sensation Ahamad Bynum, averaging 17.6 points per game, staked the Cardinals to a 17-1 lead at the 16:48 mark of the opening half. Bynum hit four three-pointers and had 13 points in the Cardinals' opening burst. He went on to finish with 22 points, hitting one more trifecta to give him five for the game and 108 on the season.

 

Though Bynum cooled from the blitzing start, the Cardinals did not defensively. Try as Georgia Highlands did to attack the goal, there was consistently a wall of defenders there on a denial mission. It was often a different combination each time, but usually included Devy Franklin, Mouhamadou Cisse or Mouhamed Mbaye.

 

The Chargers attempted to keep the Cardinals from running off and hiding, Down 23-10 with 8:02 left in the game, Georgia Highlands was within 11, 29-18 at the half. The Chargers shot 22.9   percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

 

Georgia Highlands kept chipping away as the second half began, as freshman guard Jay'Quay Nelson, averaging 16.7 points per game finally found his shooting touch. He would finish with 19 points, including back-to-back three-pointers with 3:32 left in the game to    pull the Chargers with six, 54-48,

 

After a Cardinal timeout, Garrett Nuckolls drained a three-pointer, which gave the back-to-back Region XIV champions breathing room that was enough in the end.

 

Denim Johnson also played a key role for the Cardinals. Playing for injured started point guard Makhi Dorsey, out with a knee injury suffered in the regional title game, Johnson ran the show, finishing with six assists and eight points, including a pair of clutch buckets when it appeared the Cardinals had momentum.

 

Bynum was the Cardinals' lone double-digit scorer. Ibra Bayu joined Johnson with eight.

 

Cisse finished with a team-high nine rebounds.

 

The Cardinals shot 40.6 from the floor for the game, including hit 14-of-28 in the second half.

 

Georgia Highlands, which had won five straight coming into the game, saw its season end at 19-15.

 

The Cardinals, at their 11th national tournament and eighth in the last 12 years, are now 16-11 at the event.