Basketball Team Wins Region IX Crown

Southeast CC Athletics Media Release

Bobcat

3/3/2025

The Southeast CC Men's Basketball Team locked down the final Region IX title with a 73 to 58 win over Central CC at the Lincoln Campus Gym on Saturday. The Bobcats improved to 11 and 19 on the season and will play Dakota County Tech next Saturday, March 8th. The Blue Knights beat Gogebic CC in the region 13 final 72 to 68. DCTC will host the contest in Rosemount, Minnesota. Game time is to be determined.

Southeast completed a three game season sweep of Central CC with the win on Saturday. The Bobcats were solid up and down the line-up with Soph. Viktor Kachalouskileading the way with a double-double. He scored 18 points and gathered 13 rebounds.  Fr. Change Deng came off the bench and scored 15 points. Fr. PJ Newbill scored 13. Southeast CC was effective on defense, forcing Central CC into 17 miscues while scoring off many of those mistakes. Southeast CC outscored the Raiders 36 to 19 in the first half, setting the stage for the win.

The Dakota County Tech Blue Knights advanced to the district tournament behind a 31 point outing from Lorenzo Levy. Chris Owens added 18 points in the 72 to 68 win over Gogebic CC.  They'll bring a 10 and 18 record into the contest. The Blue Knights are coached by Peter Olafeso. He's in his sixth season with the school. He's taken the program to the National Tournament twice.

Southeast CC Head Coach Joel Wooton is in his 20th season with the Bobcats. This may be one of his best coaching performances as he's molded a lot of individual talent into playing as a team on both sides of the floor. In post game comments last Saturday, Wooton told the team that the first box had been checked, and it's time to check the next box. "We've shown that when we play as a team, we're much better than our record indicates." Wooton had a cursory comment about the Blue Knights. "They have a lot of size." He added, "Rosemount, Minnesota is the closest place for us to go."