KANSAS CITY, Kan. – For the first time since 2014, the Fort Scott Community College men's basketball team has won the NJCAA Region 6 Division 2 Men's Basketball Plains District Tournament Title after knocking off previously unbeaten Johnson County Community College and holding off number two seed Allen Community College in the Championship game to win their fifth region title in program history.
Under second-year head coach Matt Glover, the Greyhounds are trending up at the right time of the season to enter the 2026 NJCAA Division 2 Men's Basketball National Tournament having won four straight games after starting the season 3-7 before going 15-7 the rest of the way. The win for the fourth-seeded Greyhounds is the first time since at least 2012 that the top two seeds in the tournament did not go on to win the Region 6 tournament title and automatic berth to the NJCAA Division 2 Men's Basketball National Tournament.
Earning a home playoff game for the third time in the past four years, the Greyhounds advanced to the semifinal round with a 76-63 victory over fifth-seeded Kansas City Kansas Community College to advance to the semifinals for a matchup on the home court of the Blue Devils against the last remaining unbeaten NJCAA Division 2 men's basketball team and number three nationally-ranked Johnson County. After dropping both regular season decisions to the Cavaliers by an average of 21 points per contest, Fort Scott did not shy away from the challenge that awaited them on Friday afternoon as early 9-2 lead for FSCC set the tone early that the contest taking place was not going to end up like the previous two.
The early Greyhound lead was erased by 9-0 Johnson County run that allowed JCCC to take a 15-11 lead before seeing Fort Scott tie things up at 21-21 with just over seven minutes left in the first half. Reclaiming the lead with a free throw followed by a J'Twane Mike layup, Fort Scott saw the back-and-forth of the game continue with Johnson County as the final six minutes of the first half did not see a lead for either team larger than five.
Trailing 34-32 at the half, Fort Scott used a Makaen Hastings triple out of the break to reclaim the lead and go back up seven at 43-36 only to see JCCC once again have a response to tie things at 44-44. A two-plus minute scoring drought for both teams kept things tied before seeing the nip-and-tuck game continue as the lead either way stayed within single digits throughout nearly the entire second half. Another scoring drought for Johnson County of nearly three minutes proved to be costly, however, allowing FSCC to build a 63-55 lead heading into the final six minutes as Fort Scott managed to pull away late and never allow the Cavaliers to get any closer than six down the stretch.
It wouldn't be known until late Friday night who Fort Scott's opponent would be in the Region 6 tournament title game as number two seed Allen and number three seed Neosho County played in the final semifinal of the day in what proved to be another thriller between schools located just 15 miles apart. In the nightcap, both the Red Devils and Panthers came out with efficient shooting as a 42-41 lead for ACC was taken into halftime after six ties in the opening period. Trailing 49-43 three minutes into the second half, ACC turned things around to tie things at 49 all and again at 59 all as the Red Devils could not reclaim the lead until a William Jordan II steal and layup to put Allen up 61-59 with 8:41 left in the game. Neosho County tied things up once more with a bucket before seeing a 14-2 Allen run break things open to put the Red Devils up 75-62 with just over two minutes remaining. The 12-point lead proved to be more than enough for Allen as Neosho County never got closer than six the rest of the way to put the Red Devils into the championship game for the first time since 2023.
The emotional wins for both teams on Friday showed in the opening minutes of Saturday's title tilt as just six points were scored across the opening four minutes of play and both teams struggling to make shots that were available to them. Trailing 8-2 with 13:44 remaining in the first half, Fort Scott appeared to settle in following a Hastings made layup as the Greyhounds clawed their way back to within two at 17-15 at the under eight-minute media timeout and eventually managed to take their first lead of the game with 5:29 left in the half. Trading the lead twice more in the first half, Fort Scott managed to close the first half by scoring the final 11 points to go up 31-22 to ride momentum into the locker room.
With still 20 minutes of game action remaining, Allen made a quick surge out of intermission by scoring six of the first eight points to get back within five at 33-28 before going on to take a 36-34 lead on a Moses Stephenson made three with 13:56 left in the game. Two ties and three more lead changes ensued over the next three minutes of play before seeing Fort Scott open a two-possession lead at 48-43 and eventually pushing their lead to three possessions at 56-49 with 6:33 remaining. Allen did not go away quietly, however, pulling back within three on an offensive putback dunk with three minutes left to trail 60-57 and eventually pulling within one at 61-60 with 2:02 left. Points became extremely hard to come by down the stretch as one made field goal for both teams and a pair of Fort Scott free throws made the score 65-62 with 18 seconds left as the Red Devils called their final timeout to draw up a final play. Out of the timeout, ACC turned to guard Clyde Davis Jr. for a game-tying three that wound up off the mark and into the hands of Greyhound J'Twane Mike who dribbled the ball across halfcourt and out of desperation foul attempts by Allen to run out the clock and secure the tournament title for FSCC.
Named Tournament MVP, Fort Scott's Makaen Hastings put up a game-high 23 points and had two rebounds in the title game to finish with a 23.7 point per game average across the three tournament games for FSCC while being joined on the All-Tournament team by teammate Jadyn Hollis. Also earning All-Tournament team honors were Allen's Clyde Davis Jr. and Nyjah Noyes, along with Johnson County's Joey Robinson, and Neosho County's Champ Powaukee.
With a spot secured in the NJCAA D2 Men's Basketball National Tournament, Fort Scott will now await their official seeding for the 20-team tournament with the official release of the bracket scheduled for 6 PM (EDT) on Monday, March 10th, live on the NJCAA Network (www.njcaa.org/network). The last time Fort Scott played in the NJCAA Division 2 Men's Basketball National Tournament, the Greyhounds went 1-2 with a win over South Suburban Community College before falling to eventual National Champion Phoenix College and top overall seed Cincinnati Tech to finish the tournament 1-2.