Freshman forward Joe Nickerson (6'4''-F) of Brookdale CC (6'4''-F) scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Jersey Blues to their first NJCAA DIII National Basketball Championship Saturday night at Sullivan County Community College.

Saturday's 61-55 win over Eastfield College (TX) was Coach Paul Cisek 's first national championship and first tournament final in his 21 years as head coach at Brookdale. It is also the first title for a New Jersey junior college since 1994, when Gloucester Community College won it.

Brookdale (33-1, 20-0) is ranked No.1 in the NJCAA DIII poll, while Eastfield (29-5, 9-1) holds the No.5 spot.

'Unbelievable run,' Cisek said. 'The kids' emotion at the end was priceless. A lot guys win championships, but I just don't know if they got to enjoy what I enjoyed with this group of kids. I've never seen a closer relationship between players and staff that this group has in my entire career.'

Down by two, 23-21 at the half after shooting a dismal 33.3 percent from the field, Brookdale bounced back to shoot a solid 48 percent in the second half. Brookdale lives off its defense and last night they were again tremendous, forcing Eastfield into shooting 22-for-60 (36.7 percent) from the field and holding them 39 points below their season scoring average of 94 points per game.

Cisek said the team got off to a slow start because the players were 'over excited and overcome with emotion. Combine that with fatigue and some injuries, and they were making dumb plays they don't normally make; it just wasn't them.'

He said he felt lucky to be down only two at the half, crediting the defense.

'They were again quick, fast, aggressive and relentless. Their conditioning is superb; it has to be with only eight players,' he said. He credited his coaching staff of Charlie Hawthorne, John Rivera, Ron Pastore, and former Rutgers star Rich Brunson.

'They're exceptional,' he said.

Nickerson, named the tournament's most valuable player after averaging 17 points and six rebounds in three games, led the second-half resurgence pumping in 16 of his team high 21 points, and five of his seven rebounds in the half. Nickerson (Barringer HS) was questionable -- after waking up with a severe back pain, could barely walk. Luckily for Brookdale, he recovered in time for tipoff.

Freshman guard David Rosado (6'3''-G) (Saddle River Day School) also stepped up for the Blues in the second half, scoring 12 of his 15 total points, and going two-for-two from the three-point arc. His clutch three-pointer at 5:50 put Brookdale up by six in their decisive run.

'The game was there for us,' Rosado said, 'We came out after halftime with a different mind set. We decided we had to forget about the fatigue, injuries, bumps and bruises, and playing three games in a row. We laid it all on the court, we worked way too hard, and it meant too much to the team; we needed this (win).'

Freshman forward Paul Little (6'4''-F) opened the second half with a driving layup, and completed the three-point play after being fouled to give Brookdale its first lead of the game, 24-23. The lead then exchanged hands five times before Eastfield went up 39-37 on Demarcus Metcalf (6'4''-SG)'s two free throws with 11:59 showing on the game clock.

Rosado's slam-dunk off an alley-oop pass from sophomore guard Neil Thompson (6'0''-PG) (6'0''-PG) (Monmouth Regional) brought the Blues to within one, 44-43 at the 8:07 mark of the half. Thompson then scored on a nifty finger roll off the dribble to put Brookdale ahead for good, 45-44 with 7:35 remaining in the contest.

Brookdale's lead grew as high as nine points with 3:32 left after a Thompson to Nickerson layup, and it was never less than five points the remainder of the game.

After hitting a sizzling 9-for-11 free throws in the first 18 minutes of the second half, the Blues cooled off and shot 3-for-10 in final two minutes, allowing the Harvesters to hang around and make things interesting.

Thompson finished with eight points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while backcourt mate Amir Gilliam (6'0''-G) (Science Park HS) added four points three rebounds, three steals, one block, and a team leading 10 assists. Rosado had seven boards, two steals, and a block with his 15 points.

Freshman forward Paul Little (Hawthorne Christian HS) chipped in seven points, seven rebounds and dished out three assists. Friday night's hero, Cory Soanes (6'0''-G) (Matawan Regional) contributed two points on a highlight reel drive to the hoop, two rebounds, and two steals, while valuable bench player Bryan Adams added four points, two boards and a monster block that probably was the highlight play of the game.

Cisek's team had a Gatorade bath waiting for him. 'I knew the first one was coming after the regionals,' he said. 'But by the time I got in the locker room after the game they took me by surprise, I'll take that bath anytime -- anytime.'