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Second Semifinal: Central Missouri v. Findlay
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-No. 1-ranked Findlay moved one step closer to a record-setting season in NCAA, Division II annals via a 67-65 semifinal victory against No. 6-rated Central Missouri in the 2009 NCAA, Division II Men's Basketball Championship Thursday, March 26. The Oilers (35-0) now have a chance to become the first 36-0 club and only the fourth team to ever capture a national championship with an unblemished record. The last time that occurred was in 1996 when Fort Hays State (KS) finished 34-0.
Findlay will now meet Cal Poly Pomona (25-7) in the title game Saturday, March 28. CBS Sports will air the contest live at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT.
This one did come easy. The Oilers led for only one minute up until the 7:15 mark of the second half, but Central Missouri (30-5) turned the ball over and missed a shot in the final 30 seconds to allow Findlay to hang on for the victory.
Junior guard Marcus Parker provided the deciding blow for Findlay by drilling a 3-pointer from the left corner that put the Oilers up 66-65 with 43 seconds remaining. The Mules then turned the ball over on its next trip and after Findlay came up empty itself on the other end, senior guard De’Andre Byrd’s 16-foot jumper with 13.3 seconds left from the right corner fell short. Findlay senior forward Josh Bostic was then fouled after he gathered in the loose ball with 1.9 seconds left. Bostic missed both of his free throws to keep the drama alive.
Central Missouri gathered the loose ball off the second miss and immediately called timeout with 1.5 seconds left. However, Byrd’s desperation heave from half court fell short as the final buzzer sounded.
“This was another tough win for us, especially after struggling in the first half. We were guarded well by a tough Central Missouri team, but we found a way to win with better execution in the second half,” said Findlay head coach Ron Niekamp.
Bostic filled up the box score with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead Findlay. Senior forward Morgan Lewis recorded his sixth “double-double” of the year with 16 points, on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor, and 11 rebounds; while senior guard Tyler Evans tossed in eight points in 20 minutes off the bench.
For Central Missouri, junior forward Sanijay Watts led four players in double-figures scoring with 18 points and five rebounds. Byrd wound up with 13, while junior forward Tremaine Luellen and senior guard Joe Young finished with 11 points apiece.
“I thought it was a great basketball game. Findlay made the plays when they needed to. We had opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of them. However, I couldn’t have been more proud of my team. You always say you want to leave it on the floor, and we certainly did that tonight”, said Central Missouri head coach Kim Anderson.
(Source Elite Eight)
First Semifinal: Cal Poly-Pomona 74, Augusta State 70
SPRINGFIELD, Mass–Unranked Cal Poly-Pomona held off a furious second half rally by No. 4-rated Augusta State to advance to its first national championship game with a 74-70 victory over the Jaguars in a semifinal contest in the 2009 NCAA, Division II Men's Basketball Championship Thursday, March 26. In the process, the Broncos have a chance to become the first unranked team since the 1979 North Alabama club to claim a national title.
Cal Poly-Pomona (25-7) will now meet either Central Missouri (30-4) or top-ranked Findlay (34-0) in the title tilt Saturday, March 28.
Senior forward Larry Gordon recorded his fifth straight “double-double” with 20 points, on 6-for-8 shooting, and 11 rebounds to pace the Broncos, who have now won 15 of their last 16. Sophomore forward Tobias Jahn, senior guard Walter Thompson and junior guard Robert Summers tossed in 11 points each, while junior guard Dahir Nasser handed out eight assists without a turnover.
For Augusta State (30-5), junior swing Fred Brathwaite had 21 points and senior center Garret Siler finished with 17. The duo also combined for 16 rebounds and shot a collective 17-for-24 from the floor. Meanwhile, junior guards Ben Madgen and Daniel Dixon added 12 and 10 points respectively.
“It was a well played game by both teams. When Augusta State came back, we made the shots and the free throws we had to. I’m just happy we came out on top,” said Cal Poly Pomona head coach Greg Kamansky. “We’ve played a lot of games like this. I’m happy our guys have great poise and toughness.”
Augusta State, which came into the game shooting 39.7 percent (234-for-590) from the arc, went just 1-for-9 from long range throughout the opening 20 minutes that put the Jaguars in arrears 31-27 at intermission.
“This time of the year the team that plays best wins, and we got outplayed tonight,” said Augusta State head coach Dip Metress “”There are many things you can point to, but the bottom line is we did not play as well as we needed to. You cannot afford to do that in a game of this magnitude.”
Regardless, it was still a five point, 45-40, contest with 13:50 remaining when Cal Poly-Pomona took off on a 9-4 spurt that afforded the Broncos their first double-digit advantage, 54-44, with 9:04 showing on the clock. They then boosted their cushion to 11 on three occasions during the next three minutes and were up 63-52 with 5:59 left when Augusta State made things interesting by finding its long range shooting touch.
Madgen ignited the run by canning a 3-pointer from the left wing. He then found the bottom of the net with a trifecta from the left corner to whittle Augusta State’s deficit to five, 63-58. Two free throws by Dixon after Cal Poly-Pomona came up empty out of a timeout cut the deficit to three.
Gordon finally snapped the Broncos scoring drought by canning a pair of free throws that put them back up five with 4:17 on the clock. However, Dixon answered right back with consecutive 3-pointers that placed the Jaguars in the black, 66-65, for the first time since they were up 2-0 at the game’s onset.
Both teams exchanged layups that made it 68-67 Augusta State with 1:40 to go, but Jahn finished inside the other end and the Broncos never trailed again as Augusta State went cold once more and managed just one field goal the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Cal Poly Pomona went 5-for-8 from the foul line down the stretch to guarantee its date with a national television audience.
(Source Elite Eight)
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