CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Zimmy Nwogbo put an exclamation point on an outstanding season by being named Tournament MVP while leading the Yellow Jackets to their first NCCAA men’s basketball title and earning spot No. 3 on Cedarville’s Top 10 of ‘11-12.
CU had made six previous trips to the NCCAA National Tournament with a pair of runner-up showings in 1988 and 1990. This time, the Jackets were dominant as the No. 1 seed with Nwogbo at the forefront on March 14-17, 2012 at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind.
The 6-foot-7 junior from Lithonia, Ga., averaged 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in Cedarville’s three victories. He shot 61 percent from the field, 84 percent at the charity stripe, and added six blocks, five steals, and four assists.
Nwogbo poured in 21 points, including a thunderous dunk, to spark the Yellow Jackets to a 74-56 win over Emmanuel (Ga.) in the championship game. He totaled 13 points and 14 rebounds during a semifinal victory against Southwestern Assemblies of God after opening with 21 points in a first-round decision versus Truett-McConnell.
Cedarville won its three games by an average of 18.7 points per contest. The Jackets posted a 16-3 finish to the season to end up 23-9 overall.
Note: The sports information staff selects the Top 10 individual performances turned in by a Yellow Jacket in 2011-12. One per weekday will be posted with Nos. 10-thru-6 the week of July 16 and Nos. 5-thru-1 the week of July 23. The Top 5 team performances will be highlighted the week of July 30.
2011-12 CU Top 10 Individual Performances