Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

South Holland — Once again, the South Suburban College Bulldogs are heading to the national tournament after winning the NJCAA Division 2 Region 4 District B championship last week (March 7), defeating Rock Valley College 74-70.

The Bulldogs are led by head coach John Pigatti, now in his 20th season. During his tenure, he has led South Suburban to the national championship tournament 14 times.

This year, the Bulldogs enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed and are slated to face the No. 8 seed Ellsworth Panthers on Tuesday, March 17.

Sophomores AJ Abrams and Tanner Fields return from last season, seeking redemption after a tough loss in last year’s regional championship. Abrams reflected on how the team fought to secure the win.

“We just had to trust each other,” said Abrams. “We all came together at the end. From the bench, from the coaches, everybody just stayed together.”

AJ Abrams has been a standout for the Bulldogs, ranking first in minutes played and field goals made (305 of 491), second in steals (104), third in total points (761), ninth in points per game (23.1), and ninth in assists (177).

Even though he leads the Bulldogs in stats, it means nothing if they don’t play together.

“We just got to stay focused, know when to play and know when not to play. We just got to have fun overall and just lock in.”

Tanner Fields brings playoff experience from his high school days, when he led Lafayette Central Catholic to the state title game. He knows, however, that college basketball demands even more.

“We won sectionals my junior year,” Fields stated. “We actually went all the way to state my junior year. It was pretty cool. But it was different with this group of guys. It was really fun. I would say the difference is the level of competition because in high school like we were really supposed to win those games, but college anything can happen.”

Fields also credited Abrams for sealing the win in the regional championship.

“AJ’s been huge,” said Fields “If you look at the games, his stats speak for itself. Especially in the most recent championship game, he had a really clutch steel and dunk that kind of sealed the game for us. So, he’s been huge.”

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs are focused on maintaining momentum through the national tournament.

“Just looking forward to the opportunity, you know, trying to make the most of it with this team,” Fields stated. “Like I said, the chemistry we have, it should be fun. And we got some momentum. Just hoping to ride that and take it all the way through.”

The Bulldogs will play the Ellsworth Panthers on Tuesday, March 17, at Danville Area Community College at 1 p.m.

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