For the third time in school history, the Northern Oklahoma College Mavericks earned a berth in the NJCAA National Basketball Tournament.
The Mavs (28-4) heard their name announced on a Live Stream from the NJCAA Monday at noon at a watch party on the NOC Tonkawa campus.
NOC will face Moberly (MO) (26-6) at 10 a.m. Monday in Hutchinson, Kansas.
"It's a pretty big deal for our college and our region to get an at-large bid," said coach Donnie Jackson. "There are only eight of those and I am thankful and appreciative that the committee selected us."
"I'm very excited for the guys, I'm excited for NOC, I'm excited for all the former players who have invested time into our program," he added. "I'm thankful for the support from our administration. They are always there for us."
"Now we just need to go and play hard, enjoy the moment and take our experiences against good teams with us to the national tournament," Jackson said. "Anything can happen at this time of year in a tournament setting."
The Mavs were on the bubble after losing in the Region 2 Semi-Finals last Friday to the NOC players were ecstatic when their name was called.
"I didn't sleep all weekend," said sophomore guard Demaree King from Tulsa. "I finally fell asleep at 3 in the morning. When I saw the Maverick logo up there, it was a big relief. I'm so excited for our team."
Sophomore guard Barron Tanner, Jr. from Bartlesville, said the stress was too much.
"Man, it was a long weekend waiting for noon today," he said. "I'm so excited that we made the tournament."
Little Rock, Arkansas, Sophomore Deaveon Bankston agreed.
"This is a special team," he said. "I've never been a part of a team like this, it's been a lot of fun. I'm just glad we made it and have a game on Monday. It was a long weekend of waiting."
Maverick players plan to take advantage of the opportunity.
"We have more work to do," King said. "Now, we need to go make some noise."
The Mavs returned have just four sophomores so this team has relied on a blend of youth and experience.
"Our young guys have been great," King said. "They bring out the best in me every day and I have tried to bring out the best in them."
"This group has been so much fun," Bankston said. "Everyone plays hard for each other and that's made a big difference on this year's team."
Tanner said he thinks this team proved some people wrong.
"We lost a lot of sophomores last year and I don't think many people thought we would be where we are. Everyone has worked hard and put everything into this season."
For King, his season ended last year with a broken wrist. He used that redshirt year to work on his game and now the Mavs are in the NJCAA Tournament.
"It was hard last year sitting out most of the year but it's all worth it now," King said with a smile.
NOC was the first team announced for the 24-team field. There were 16 automatic bids, earned by teams winning their region tournaments and eight at-large bids.
The first two NJCAA appearances for the Mavs came in 1998 and 2000.
The Mavs were ranked 7th in the latest NJCAA poll, the Mavs lost in the semi-finals to Murray State Friday in the Region 2 Tournament in Shawnee.