Crossroads League Teams USF, IWU To Meet For National Title
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POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Indiana Wesleyan, the Crossroads League regular season and tournament runner-up, will get one more shot at St. Francis, the season and tourney champion in both cases. This time with the NAIA Division II national title at stake. The teams set up the ultimate men’s basketball rematch with wins in the semifinals Monday night; fifth-ranked IWU edged No. 2 Davenport (Mich.) 66-65 while USF, the No. 1 team in the country, handled IU-East 79-55. The teams have met three times this season, with USF winning all three; on its home court in Fort Wayne 82-67, on Jan. 16, 87-74 on Feb. 20 in Marion, and in the league tournament title game in Fort Wayne 81-80 on March 1. The national title game will tipoff at 7 p.m. today, and can be seen online via ESPN3.
USF Semifinal Recap St. Francis lived up to its top overall seed as the Cougars abruptly ended No. 7 IU East and its Cinderella story 79-55 in the first semifinal. With outstanding precision on offense coupled with a relentless defensive effort, USF left little doubt what the final outcome would be after the opening minutes. Bryce Lienhoop, who was one point shy of a double-double in just the first half, scored off a putback that capped a 9-0 run to put the Cougars in front 11-3. Another 9-2 USF surge, ending with a thunderous dunk by Perry Poindexter Jr., gave USF a commanding 20-5 lead. The Cougars shot 47 percent in the first half, held a huge edge on the glass (31-12) and limited IU East to just 15 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes, taking a 44-16 lead. “I liked the way we took command from the start,” said St. Francis head coach Chad LaCross. “We always talk about having good starts and these guys locked up defensively. I really felt our focus was there from the start and how we completely dominated the entire game, That’s what I was most pleased with tonight.” It was more of the same in the second half as a Lienhoop reverse put USF up by 30 (48-18) and a three-pointer by Brogan Gary made the difference 31 points. The Cougars used their bench extensively over the final 10-plus minutes as every USF player saw at least seven minutes of court time. USF ended the game shooting 44 percent from the field and continued to dominate the glass, 51-29. Lienhoop led the way with 13 points and 14 rebounds, his second double-double of the 2016 championship. All-American and the Crossroads League Player of the Year Austin Fox netted 14 points and pulled down nine boards. It was Fox’s play on the defensive end, however, holding IU East leading scorer Lucas Huffman to just seven points. Kegan Comer added 13 for the Cougars. Parker Salinas led all scorers with 18 points, playing in his final game in a Red Wolves uniform. Both Vasha Davis and Nate Niehoff scored nine for IU-East, who missed 11 of its first 13 shots and shot 27 percent for the game. The Red Wolves incredible championship run comes to a close with a 22-14 record. USF, improving its already school-record win total to 33-4, advances to play in its third championship game on Tuesday night, March 15. The Cougars won the title in 2010 and lost to Cornerstone in the championship game in 2011. “Trust me, I don’t take this for granted at all,” said LaCross, coaching in his third national championship contest. “I understand there’s a lot of guys I look up to who have been doing it for a long, time and have not had the opportunity that I’ve had. Really, it’s just a credit to my assistant coaches – coach Luke Cummings, coach (Jeremy) Henney, coach (Todd) Martin, coach (Zach) Welklin. All those guys put in so much time and obviously our players as well. I’m definitely blessed.”
IWU Semifinal Recap Indiana Wesleyan held off a ferocious second-half comeback by No. 1 seed Davenport to win 66-65 in the second semifinal game. The final two points of a 17-point effort by junior sharpshooter Bob Peters, a pair of free throws with two seconds left, proved to be the difference and put Indiana Wesleyan up four, 66-62. A three-pointer that just beat the final horn by Davenport playmaker Nick Gamble provided a bit more flare to the heavyweight match-up and made it a one-point game at the end. Peters and his teammates heroics secured the 300th career win for IWU head coach Greg Tonagel, who will lead the Wildcats to their second national championship game in three years. Tonagel guided Indiana Wesleyan to the title in 2014 where they defeated Midland (Neb.), 78-68. Davenport began the game with a flurry, opening its largest lead of the game (10-4) following a field goal by WHAC player of the Year Dominez Burnett. Still a six-point game, the backcourt duo of Peters and Jonny Marlin scored five points each and ignited a IWU 15-0 run to seize control, 21-12. The Wildcats buckled down defensively as well, holding Davenport without a field goal for six minutes and limited the Panthers’ shooting percentage to 31 percent in the opening half. A three-pointer by Trevor Waite sparked a 10-2 IWU run, ending with five consecutive points by Peters, as the Wildcats led 40-25. Lane Mahurin scored the first basket of the second half and gave Indiana Wesleyan its largest lead of the game, 42-25. Davenport, behind a stellar defensive effort over the final 20 minutes, methodically came back, cutting the lead down to nine on a floater by Kevin Rich at the 10 minute mark. Consecutive baskets by Gamble made it a four-point game (55-51) moments later as the Panthers defense held IWU without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. Jacob Johnson converted a jumper in the paint to put IWU up six (62-56). Gamble and John McCloud scored on consecutive possessions to get Davenport within two. Still a two point game with one minute left, Davenport got the stop they needed on the defensive end but failed to convert on a short jumper with five seconds left to tie it. Peters scored 15 of his team-leading 17 points in the first half and both Mahurin (12) and Johnson (10) joined the junior in double figures. Marlin chipped in nine points, seven in the first half, 11 rebounds and three assists. IWU shot 37% for the game, 24% from beyond the arc, and was held to its season low for points in a game. “Obviously they are a tough team and we knew they were going to make a run,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel.” We just got stagnant on offense but we didn’t get caught up in it and we just kept playing, grinding it out. We have some tough kids on this team and great leadership and they never stopped believing." Rich led all scorers with 21 points and also grabbed eight rebounds to lead Davenport. Gamble poured in 16 while Burnett was held to a season-low seven points before fouling out in the closing minutes. Davenport ends its season with a 32-5 record, matching the program record for wins a season.
Women’s Basketball Monday in Sioux Falls, Iowa Marian Advances To Title Game In one of two semifinal games taking place tonight at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, the Knights of Marian (Ind.) started off with a commanding lead and never looked back as they make their way to their first NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship title game with a victory over Mount Marty (S.D.), 84-55. This was the second meeting between the two teams; they met in the first round of the national tournament March 10, 2011. Marian won, 75-72. Everything seemed to be falling for the Knights as they were 4-for-9 from behind the arc in the first quarter, ending the game with 43 percent. Standout Lakan Hasser-Smith who is 16 points away from becoming the first Knight to surpass the 2,000-point plateau added 21 points, with five assists and three rebounds. Other standouts for Marian were Kellie Kirkhoff (15), Anastacia Kirby (14) and Joana Soeiro (10). Jenna Sullivan also pulled in a game-high 11 rebounds. “It took a lot to prepare and we left the floor with no regrets, but we still have work to do.” Coach Katie Gearlds said after the game. On the defensive side, Marian shutdown the Lancers with a suffocating offense that lead to 15 steals and 19 turnovers from the Lancers. It was a tough night for the Lancers as nothing seemed to be falling, only connecting on 12-of-28 shots from the field in the first half and 22 of 55 overall. Senior Alex Kneeland was the only player to see double-digits on the night going six of 19 and bringing in 14 points. Mount Marty ends its season 25-11.
Goshen Falls In Semifinal No. 1 Southern Oregon advances to the title game of the 2016 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship, presented by Mercy Medical and Seaboard Triumph Foods for the first time in school history as the only No. 1 seed to survive past quarterfinals beating No. 5 Goshen (Ind.), 84-69. With standout guard Ashley Claussen out due to injury, the Raiders never seemed to skip a beat. Operating a defense that held its opponent to 21 or less points at the end of each quarter and only giving up 69 total points. The Raiders created 19 turnovers with 10 steals on the night. Offensive wise Southern Oregon was 48 percent from the field, connecting on 29-of-60 shots 7-of-19 from behind the arc. The Raiders saw solid games from nine players who all put up points on the night including four who record double-digits like Courtney Setzer who had a strong finish with 17 points and four rebounds. “This was a total team victory,” Southern Oregon head coach Alex Carlson said. “It’s their toughness that got us through and to the championship.” As for Goshen, the full court press by the Raiders slowed down the Maple Leafs who only shot 27-of-63 from the field and 29 percent from behind the arc. Big shots were missed late that could have given Goshen a closer chance at a win. Gabby Williams had a game high 21 points and 10 rebounds earning her fourteenth double-double on the season. Liz Tecca and Lynnia Noel also scored double-digits with 10 each. Goshen ends its season 27-9 after only winning 18 games last year.
