|
Fourth Quarterfinal: Findlay 89, C.W. Post 79 OT
SPRINGFIELD, Mass–No. 1-ranked Findlay outscored No. 2-rated C.W. Post 12-2 in overtime and rallied from an 11-point, late first half deficit to chalk up an 89-79 victory in a quarterfinal game of the 2009 NCAA, Division II Men's Basketball Championship Elite Eight Wednesday, March 25. The game featured the lone remaining undefeated NCAA Division II teams.
The Oilers (34-0) shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) from the floor and outscored the Pioneers (30-1) 14-3 at the foul line to set up their date with Central Missouri (30-4) in tomorrow’s national semifinal game. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm. The Mules advanced with an 86-77 quarterfinal victory against Gannon.
Senior center Lee Roberts finished 10-for-13 from the floor on the way to a game-high 23 points for the Oilers, who had five players in double-figures scoring. Junior guard Marcus Parker had 19 points to go with five assists and senior forward Josh Bostic finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, senior guard Tyler Evans and senior forward Morgan Lewis added 12 and 11 points respectively.
“C.W. Post has tremendous quickness with the four guards they play. We thought we could create some mismatches and what got us going was our ability to free up Roberts inside,” said Findlay head coach Ron Niekamp.
“In all fairness, we got the looks and just didn’t make them. When you live by the three, you die by the three,” added C.W. Post head Tim Cluess, whose team took 37 of its 68 shots from beyond arc.
The Pioneers were paced by senior guards Kevin Spann and Jonathan Schmidt who scored 20 and 17 points respectively. Another senior guard in Kenny Burkes and junior guard Lyndon Daniel added 11 and 10 respectively. Burkes and Spann also had seven assists apiece.
C.W. Post held a lead that swung between two and five points throughout the opening 14 minutes of the second half, before Roberts scored six consecutive points to put Findlay ahead by four, 73-69, with 3:15 remaining. However, Burkes canned a pair of free throws and Schmidt converted a layup that tied the game for the fourth time, 73-73, with 1:15 left in regulation.
Roberts then finished a three-point play to apparently put Findlay in driver’s seat, 76-74, with 45 ticks left. After C.W. Post came up empty, senior forward Morgan Lewis went 1-for-2 from the stripe to further make it a three-point affair with 31 seconds left.
However, C.W Post was not ready to draw the curtain on its outstanding season. It was Burkes who set the stage for an encore by draining a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner with 20 seconds to go. Findlay advanced the ball up the court, but Roberts’ 10-foot turnaround jumper in the paint fell off the front rim and an extra-session ensued.
(Source Elite Eight)
Third Quarterfinal: Central Missouri 86, Gannon 77
SPRINGFIELD, Mass-After being held to 10 points during the initial seven-plus minutes of the second half, Central Missouri scored 44 points during the final 13 minutes to rally from a 12 point deficit and in the process hand Gannon an 86-77 setback in a quarterfinal game in the 2009 NCAA, Division II Men's Basketball Championship Wednesday, March 25.
The Mules shot 66.7 percent (16-for-24) from the floor, including 70.0 percent (7-for-10) from the arc and 93.8 percent from the line (15-for-16), in the second half to advance against one of the lone two remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division II. Central Missouri (30-4) will now meet either second-ranked C.W. Post (30-0) or top-ranked Findlay (33-0) in a national semifinal game.
“We started playing more aggressively and took it to the hoop more in the second half,” said Central Missouri head coach Kim Anderson. “Our team has demonstrated a lot of resiliency this season. We did not panic and just got better towards the end.”
Junior forward Sanijay Watts went 9-for-13 from the field to pace five Central Missouri players in double-figures scoring with 21 points and six rebounds. Senior guard De’Andre Byrd tossed in 20 points, while senior guard Joe Young and junior forward Tremaine Luellen had 13 apiece, with all of Young’s 13 coming after halftime. Junior guard Alex Moosmann rounded out the balanced attack with 12 points.
For Gannon, senior guard Joe Lindsey scored 18 points and handed out six assists, and senior forward Kyle Goldcamp had 15 points thanks to a 7-for-11 shooting effort from the floor. Senior guard Cory Knight wound up with 14 points and four assists, while senior forward Tyler Stoczynski contributed 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Luellen, Byrd, Young and Moosmann each drained a 3-pointer within a three minute span midway through the second half that trimmed the Central Missouri deficit from 12, 54-42, to five, 58-54, with 9:53 remaining. It was a still a seven point deficit, 64-57, three minutes later when Luellen canned another trey and Watts converted a three-point play to make it a one point affair, 64-63, with 6:41 showing on the overhead scoreboard.
Moosmann finally brought the Mules even, 68-68, with 5:05 left when he knocked down a jumper in the paint. After Gannon tied it once more, Watts finished inside and Central Missouri never looked back with a 72-70 lead in hand at the 3:00 mark. The Mules then proceeded to go 10-for-10 from the foul line during the final 1:21 to put the finishing touches on their tenth consecutive victory.
In the first half, both teams generated leads that fluctuated between one and five points throughout the opening 18 minutes. However, Gannon closed out the final 4:23 with a 9-2 jaunt that turned a 30-29 deficit into a 38-32 lead at the break.
(Source Elite Eight)
Second Quarterfinal: Cal Poly-Pomona 79, Southwest Minnesota State 74
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.–Larry Gordon poured in 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace Cal Poly-Pomona to a 79-74 comeback victory over Southwest Minnesota State in the second quarterfinal of the 2009 NCAA, Division II Men's Basketball Championship Elite Eight Wednesday, March 25.
Unranked in the final regular season poll, Cal Poly Pomona (24-7) has traveled 10,000 miles throughout its 2009 NCAA Tournament run. Up next is a semifinal matchup with Augusta State (30-4).
Both teams shot well with No. 12-ranked Southwest Minnesota State (21-6) converting 54.2 percent (26-for-48) of its chances and Cal Poly-Pomona burying 56.8 percent (25-for-44) of its opportunities. However, the Broncos generated an 18-5 rebounding advantage in the second stanza and drained a sizzling 89.7 percent (26-for-29) of their free throws for the game, the second highest such mark in Elite Eight annals.
“The game was typical of how we were playing over the last couple of months. We weren’t in sync early, but in the second half we rebounded very well and our free throws were critical. We made the plays we needed to make, and that was the difference,” said Cal Poly-Pomona head coach Greg Kamansky.
A senior forward, Gordon registered his 13th “double-double” of the year and established himself as the all-time leading rebounder (938) for Cal Poly-Pomona. Gordon finished with 21 points, via 8-for-11 shooting from the floor, and 10 boards to pace four double-digit scorers. Sophomore forward Tobias Jahn tossed in 13 points, while junior guard Dahir Nasser and senior guard Walter Thompson scored 12 points apiece.
Senior guard Andy Beilke finished with 17 points and fellow senior backcourt mate Ryan Krome had 13 points and five assists for Southwest Minnesota State, which saw its second Elite Eight appearance of the decade conclude with a quarterfinal setback.
The contest was close throughout with eight ties over the opening 25 minutes and with neither club able to generate a double-digit advantage.
Cal Poly-Pomona overcame a 33-29 halftime deficit with a 9-2 spurt at the onset of the second period that afforded the Bronco’s a 38-35 lead with 17:22 remaining. Southwest Minnesota State then responded with eight of the ensuing 11 points during the next two minutes to go back up by two, 43-41.
However, Tobias scored three straight buckets via a jumper and a fastbreak layup that preceded a basket in the paint. Thompson then put the final touches on the 8-0 run with a jumper. The end result was a 49-43 Cal Poly-Pomona advantage with 12:12 remaining.
The Broncos never trailed again although the Mustangs twice pulled to within a point during the next seven minutes thanks to a Krome 3-pointer and a trey from junior guard DeAnthony Sanders. However, each time Cal Poly-Pomona’s Thompson responded with a 3-pointer of his own to keep Southwest Minnesota State in arrears. Pomona rallied from a 33-29 halftime deficit to earn the victory, firing in 15-25 field goals (60 percent) and 18-19 free throws (95 percent). Cal Poly also owned the second half boards, taking a 18-5 rebound advantage.
(Source Elite Eight)
First Quarterfinal: Augusta State 70, Christian Brothers 62
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.–Augusta State overcame the second-largest halftime deficit in Elite Eight history en route to a 70-62 quarterfinal victory versus Christian Brothers in the first quarterfinal of the 2009 NCAA, Division II Men's Basketball Championship Wednesday, March 25.
No. 4-ranked Augusta State trailed 32-18 at intermission, but shot 62.5 percent (15-for-24) from the floor and held No. 15-rated Christian Brothers (21-6) to 20.0 percent (2-for-10) shooting from the arc throughout the final 20 minutes to run their win streak to 16 games. The Jaguars also generated a 31-17 advantage on the boards, including an 18-5 margin the second stanza, and helped themselves by canning 84.6 percent (22-for-26) of their free throws.
Junior guard Ben Madgen scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime and pulled down six rebounds to lead Augusta State. Junior forward Fred Brathwaite added 15 points, while fellow junior forward Caleb Brown finished with 12 points and four rebounds throughout 22 minutes of reserve duty.
Senior guard Reggie Peyton had a game-high 20 points and senior center Nick Kohs tossed in 15 for the Pirates.
Augusta State put itself in business by opening the second period with a 16-5 run that made it a one possession game, 37-34, with 12:36 remaining. Brathwaite converted a layup to ignite the jaunt. Brown then finished inside and Madgen knocked down a jumper to cap it.
“We knew Christian Brothers runs a similar offense to Princeton and we struggled with that in the first half, but in the second half we worked hard to free up our shooters and we focused on attacking them defensively,” said Augusta State head coach Dip Metress.
Two minutes after the initial outburst, Madgen converted a three-point play to tie it, 42-42, for the first time since a 4-4 deadlock in the game’s opening moments. Christian Brothers regained its advantage on two more occasions, but 7-0 senior center Garret Siler scored in the paint out of a timeout and senior guard Steve Smith drained a jumper to put the Jaguars in front to stay, 49-46, with 6:45 to go. They then went 12-for-14 from the foul line during the final 3:40 to a punch a ticket to their second consecutive national semifinal game.
“The experience of last year certainly helped,” said Metress. “The more you advance, the better off you are. Winning that first game in this tournament is always the toughest. Our shots weren’t falling in the first half, but I think our experience showed through in the second.”
The opening stanza was a different story as Christian Brothers outscored Augusta State 17-4 during an eight-minute span that transformed a 5-4 deficit into a 21-9 advantage with 6:23 left. Augusta State brought it back to within 10 on three occasions, but the Pirates held the Jaguars scoreless throughout the final 2:29 to go in the locker room up 14 at the break.
The Jaguars (30-4) will meet Cal Poly-Pomona (24-7) in a national semifinal game Thursday, March 26.
(Source Elite Eight) | 
