Warriors’ Historic National Tournament Run Caps Program-Defining Season

Posted: Mar 20, 2026

The Ridgewater Men's Basketball team etched its name into program history this season, earning an at-large bid to the national tournament for the first time ever. The Warriors traveled to Herkimer, New York, ready to embrace the spotlight—and they delivered a memorable run that showcased the team's resilience, talent, and competitive fire.

Ridgewater opened its tournament journey against Montgomery County Community College in a matchup that quickly turned into a battle of momentum swings. The Warriors held a narrow 36–35 lead at halftime, and the second half continued with the same high-intensity back-and-forth action. With just over six minutes remaining, Ridgewater held a 64–61 advantage when a power outage halted play and forced the game to be completed the following morning.

Despite the unusual circumstances, the Warriors responded with poise. They dominated the final six minutes, outscoring the Mustangs 19–5 to secure the first national-tournament victory in school history. DeAndre Holloway delivered a monster performance with 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Tyrese Mayo added 26 points and 8 assists to power the Ridgewater offense.

The win propelled Ridgewater into the Elite Eight, where they faced a talented Dallas College North Lake squad. The Warriors trailed 50–37 at halftime but rallied behind a strong push in the second half before ultimately falling 89–82. Mayo led the way with 21 points, Holloway added 20, Brenton McKinney contributed 19, and John Hooker recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Ridgewater then moved into the consolation bracket to face a familiar opponent in Riverland Community College. In another tightly contested first half, the Warriors trailed 43–42 but couldn't keep pace down the stretch, falling 97–89. Mayo poured in 34 points on 7-of-14 shooting from three, and Holloway added 23 points and 12 rebounds to close out his stellar tournament showing.

The Warriors finish the season with an impressive 23–8 overall record, but the numbers only tell part of the story. This group made history—breaking through to the national stage for the first time and proving that Ridgewater basketball has arrived. The Warriors also earned the National Team Sportsmanship Award.

It was, by every measure, a season to remember.

We sat down with Coach Thooft to talk about the national tournament.

The national tournament took place in Herkimer, NY. Can you tell us a few highlights from the trip?

"This trip was a great experience for our guys and for our program. First National Tournament appearance in school history and our guys responded well. One highlight was walking into the Herkimer gym for the first time for shootaround. Guys were fired up and we had a really fun practice. The bus trip to the first game was also a great feeling. It was a 30 minute drive and the energy on the bus was so focused and quiet, it is hard to describe but for our team it was a fun feeling. Finally, watching us compete and watching the other games and recognizing that we fully belong there and were going to have an opportunity to really compete with the best was awesome. We won't forget a lot of things about this experience."

During your first-round game, the power went out in the whole town. You had just taken the lead with 6 minutes left, and the game had to be finished in the morning. Can you talk about how you handled that and how you were able to get the job done that next morning.

"It was a surreal experience. It got black as night in the gym and nobody knew what was going on. We made it an emphasis to not have a negative reaction toward the situation. We needed to control what we could control and find a win to win a 1^st round game. That morning we did everything we could to make it feel like noon when we walked into the gym. Our guys character really shined through and we came out loud, excited, and focused. BJ hit that 3 right away and our guys were flying from then on. Really proud of our energy and character in the response to a really strange situation."

The season officially started on October 1st, can you talk about the year as a whole? Give us a few highlights from throughout the year.

"This year was special because of the character of our team and our sophomores. Our guys were bought into team building, the program, and the work from day 1. Tyrese and DeAndre had such big summers of development and set a tone in conditioning the first day. When we have group that is always on time and always ready to bring energy, it is a really fun group to coach and build. Our goal going into the season was to maximize this group and I think that we did a good job of that. Our offense scored a lot, but not only that it was a fun style where the ball moved all the time and everyone was impactful. We rebounded at a high level when we needed to and really developed that part of our program. Our bench brough great energy every single day. It is a really long season and having guys that aren't playing in the games very much be impactful with how we move and feel is how you build a high level team. This team became very close through the year and is a team that Ridgewater will always remember."