BY GREGG SARRA
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
March 13, 2004

DELHI, N.Y. - Now the key numbers are 33, 51 and 1.

As in a 33-0 record, 51 straight wins - and one more victory needed for a second straight national championship.

Top-ranked Suffolk CC- Selden took a 17-point halftime lead and muscled its way past much bigger Caldwell CC (N.C.), 93-73, in an NJCAA Division III Tournament semifinal Friday at SUNY-Delhi.

The Clippers, who own the fourth-longest winning streak in men's college basketball history, will meet Eastfield College (Texas) in the national championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday. Eastfield (25-10) beat Roxbury CC (Mass.), 83-75, in the other semifinal.

Maurice Manning had a game-high 26 points for the Clippers, but Friday's victory wasn't about any one player. Suffolk CC had 10 players score in the first half, including reserves Alvin Dennis, Justin Hubbard, Dave Maldonado, Anton Cheese and Marcelle Bryant.

"We went deep into the bench and it gave our guys a breather," Suffolk coach Rich Wrase said. "We were relentless. It was one of the best defensive performances we've had this season."

That defensive effort frustrated seventh-ranked Caldwell CC (27-5), which had extended its winning streak to 24 games with an 85-79 victory over Joliet J.C. (Ill.) in Thursday's quarterfinal. The Cobras, averaging 98 points per game, could muster only 27 in the first half as the Clippers forced 13 turnovers.

"We fronted them underneath and our defense was tough," said Bryant, who had seven rebounds. "They got nothing easy."

The Cobras found the Clippers' man-to-man defense difficult to penetrate. In the first half, leading scorer Ty Horton (16 per game) was held to one basket and 6-8 forward Zeke Mayes had five points as Suffolk built a 44-27 lead.

"We all have a role and not everyone is a scorer," said Hubbard, who dived and came up with two loose balls in a 7-2 run to end the half. "It's about hustle and playing a physical, rough game. I love that."

With the score tied at 16, Suffolk went on an 18-3 run for a 34-19 lead. Seven players scored in that spurt, led by point guard Aaron Cummings with five. Cummings totaled 15 points and eight assists.

"We did all the little things that win games," Cheese said. "We were hustling and getting to balls before they went out of play. Those are intangibles that win games."

As Manning stepped off the court, he pumped his fist and exhorted his teammates.

"We do this one more time," he said. "And we do it strong - together."

SCC-SELDEN 93
CALDWELL 73
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