Day 1 Recaps - 2017 Basketball National Championships

Day 1 Recaps - 2017 Basketball National Championships
March 1, 2017

Women's Division I Recaps

#1 Concordia College Alabama vs. #8 Paul Quinn College

FINAL SCORE: #1 Concordia College Alabama 79, #8 Paul Quinn College 61

RECORDS: Concordia College Alabama 23-4, Paul Quinn College 8-20

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.

IN BRIEF: Defending champions Concordia College Alabama used their experience and deep bench to outplay Paul Quinn College of Dallas, Texas. After a surprising first half in which Concordia found itself down by 4 heading into the locker room, Concordia returned to familiar form and outscored Paul Quinn by 19 points in the third quarter to run away with the victory. Concordia and Paul Quinn both had three scorers with double digits.

ON THE COURT

  • Paul Quinn threatened defending champions Concordia by jumping out an early lead.
  • Paul Quinn entered the locker room with a 4 point lead.
  • After the half, Concordia used a full-court press to dismantle the offense of Paul Quinn.
  • Concordia’s quickness and deep bench wore Paul Quinn down.
  • Shortly after the second half began, CCA never looked back and steadily grew their lead with quickness and strong play in the paint.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • #8 Paul Quinn College proved a worthy opponent to the defending champions, working toward three ties and five lead changes in the game.  However, their largest lead was only four points.
  • The difference in the game proved to be turnovers (Concordia with 23 points on turnovers) and forward play with Concordia scoring 50 of their 79 points in the paint.
  • Concordia’s size was to their advantage, posting 10 blocks against Paul Quinn.
  • Concordia shot well from the field (42% FG Percentage) and from beyond the arc (33% 3-Point Percentage).  However, they struggled from the line, making only 12 of 21 free throws.
  • Carshava Sutton was the leading scorer and rebounder in the game, posting 21 points and 16 rebounds.

NEXT UP

Concordia Alabama advances to meet the winner of the #4 Florida College/#5 Silver Lake game at 11:00 a.m. on Friday in the Main Arena. Paul Quinn will play in a consolation game at 9:15 at Maltho tomorrow morning.

#3 Rochester College vs. #6 Alfred State College

FINAL SCORE: #3 Rochester College Warriors 67, #6 Alfred State College 43

RECORDS: Rochester College 16-16; St. Joseph's College Brooklyn 15-9

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.

IN BRIEF: In the opening Women’s Division I game in the Mathlo Gymnasium, Rochester College defeated Alfred State College by a score of 67-43.

ON THE COURT

  • Rochester College had a 16-5 lead after the opening quarter of the game, including two 3-pointers from Devon Valko.
  • Maddy Valko scored 11 consecutive points, including two from behind the arc, on back to back trips down the court for the Warriors over a four-minute span in the second quarter.
  • During the second quarter, Rochester College outscored the Pioneers 20-6 and took a 25-point lead into the halftime break.
  • 2017 USCAA Women’s Division I Player of the Year, Catherine Bialecki of Alfred State, went 5-11 during the third and fourth quarter. Bialecki had five rebounds and three blocks during that same stretch. She began the fourth quarter by scoring six straight points for the Pioneers.
  • Alfred State outscored Rochester College 32-31 in the second half, but weren’t able to overcome the early deficit.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • Devan Valko came off the bench for Rochester College and scored 12 of the team’s 42 bench points. Valko was 4-8 from behind the arc and her sister Maddy Valko was 3-6 from three-point range.
  • Bialecki had a game high 15 points for Alfred State, and was just two blocks away from a double-double.
  • Rochester outrebounded Alfred State 55 to 40 and created 14 second chance points.
  • Forward Allyssa Copley of Rochester College had nine rebounds, three blocks, and three steals in the contest.

NEXT UP

Rochester College advances to the semifinals and will meet the winner of the Berea College/Dean College game at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday in the Main Arena. Alfred State will face the loser of Berea College/Dean game Thursday, at 8:00 a.m. EST in consolation action.  

#4 Florida College vs. #5 Silver Lake College

FINAL SCORE: #4 Florida College 72, #5 Silver Lake College 55

RECORDS: Silver Lake College 18-12, Florida College 12-12

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena, Uniontown, Pa.

IN BRIEF: Silver Lake used big second and third quarters to down the Florida College Falcons 72-55. Off the bench, Tasha Rabe paved the way for her Lady Lakers with 18 points and 12 rebounds. With a close game at the half, Silver Lake surged into the second half with intense defense and a dominant 24-9 third quarter performance. Silver Lake's stifling defense contributed to three consecutive turnovers by Florida College that put the game out of reach.

ON THE COURT

  • Florida College and Silver Lake ended a testy first quarter tied at 10 points apiece.
  • Silver Lake finds their groove and heads into the half with a 5 point lead.
  • After the half, Silver Lake extended their lead with strong defense and 12 free throws.
 BEHIND THE BOXSCORE
  • Silver Lake had four players with double digits.
  • Points off turnovers was the difference. Silver Lake scored 23 points off turnovers compared to Florida College's 11.
  • Florida College was led in scoring by reserve Saje Shlatterer with 12 points.
  • Silver Lake knocked down seven shots from beyond the arc.

NEXT UP

Silver Lake College advances to play #1 Concordia College Alabama at 11:00 a.m. on Friday in the Main Arena. Florida College will play in a consolation game at 9:15 at Maltho tomorrow morning.

#2 Berea College vs. #7 Dean College

FINAL SCORE: #2 Berea College Mountaineers 70, #7 Dean College Bulldogs 46

RECORDS: Berea College 16-9; Dean College 21-8

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.


IN BRIEF: The Berea College Mountaineers defeated the Dean College Bulldogs with a final score of 70-46 in the opening round of the USCAA Women’s Division I National Championship.


ON THE COURT

  • Berea College took an early 8-0 lead in the opening two and a half minutes of the game, with all points coming from Jamie Roberts.
  • Afterward, the Bulldogs from Dean College, making their first USCAA Basketball National Championship appearance, cut the lead to three. Berea would close out the half with two unanswered buckets to extend their lead to seven at the break.
  • Kiley Barnard scored nine straight points for Berea in the third quarter, but was matched by Dean’s Fataya Larry and Densiha Gardner, who scored nine of the team’s 13 points in the third.
  • Berea College began the fourth quarter with consecutive buckets from beyond the arc to extend their lead to 29 with only seven minutes remaining in the game.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • Denisha Gardner of Dean College had game-highs of 19 points and 19 rebounds. Twelve of her rebounds came on the offensive side of the glass leading to Dean’s 23 second chance points.
  • Berea’s Kristien Barnes was the top scorer for the Mountaineers with 16 points. The guard added two assists and five rebounds to round out her stat line.
  • Kiley Barnard accounted for 14 of the 23 bench points for Berea College.

NEXT UP

Berea College will face the third seeded Rochester College Warriors who defeated Alfred State College earlier in the day. That matchup will take place on Friday, March 3rd at 1:00 P.M. in Main Arena. Dean moves to the consolation bracket and will face Alfred State at 8:00 A.M. EST in the Main Arena. 

Men's Division I Recaps

#1 University of Maine Fort Kent vs. #8 Dean College


 FINAL SCORE: #1 University of Maine Fort Kent 76, #8 Dean College 63
RECORDS: University of Maine Fort Kent 23-8, Dean College 16-11
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena, Uniontown, Pa.

 

IN BRIEF: With eight ties and seven lead changes, the University of Maine Fort Kent Bengals escaped a the tournament’s first major upset, defeating Dean College 76-63 in the opening round of the USCAA Basketball Men’s Division I National Championships. Dean kept it close in a back and forth game. At the 10-minute mark in the second, a three point shot made by freshman John Lambert of Dean cut the deficit to 51-50. But that would be the end of Dean’s late run. Late second half Bulldog turnovers and a costly technical foul combined with Fort Kent’s clock management finished Dean off. Joe McCloskey of Fort Kent led all scorers with 28 points and added 15 rebounds.


 ON THE COURT

  • Dean and Fort Kent worked out early jitters with feisty defense.  Both teams shot under 35% in the first half.
  • Neither team shot well from the free throw line; both teams were under 60%.
  • For the Bengals, Rosevelt Smith Jr. and Benson Arogbo had double digits in scoring and rebounding.
  • Dean College scored 19 second chance points.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • Maine Fort Kent had four scorers in double digits.
  • Dayvon Russell lead all Dean scorers with 14 points.
  • The Bengals scored 44 points in the paint.
  • Dean was 7-23 from beyond the arc.
  • Maine Fort Kent scored 16 fast break points.

NEXT UP

Maine Fort Kent advances to play the winner of the #4 Illinois Tech/#5 Florida College game at 8 PM in the Main Arena Thursday. Dean College will play a consolation game at 11:15 AM at Maltho tomorrow.

#3 Berea College vs #6 Florida National University Conquistadors

FINAL SCORE: #3 Berea College Mountaineers 90, #6 Florida National University Conquistadors 75

RECORDS: Berea College 17-9; Florida National University 13-15

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.


IN BRIEF: The Berea College Mountaineers defeated the Florida National Conquistadors by a final score of 90-75 in the opening round of the USCAA Men’s Division I National Championship.


ON THE COURT

  • The Mountaineers had a 13-5 lead after five minutes of play in the opening half.
  • Berea was 18-21 from the free throw line in the first half on 14 Florida National fouls.
  • Florida National had 10 players score in the first half, with Antonio Sims leading the team with seven. However, it was the Mountaineers who led at half by a score of 43-32.
  • Sims started the second half with two consecutive baskets from behind the arc, sank two free-throws, then stole the ball and scored, cutting Berea’s led to three.
  • Berea College would answer by going on a 13-point run over the next three minutes to regain their advantage.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • Richard Parker of Berea had a game-high 30 points on 8-19 shooting from the floor and 6-12 from behind the arc.
  • Dyonta Bizzle-Brown added 18 points to for the Mountaineers. Corey Wise had 15 points and Anthony Myrks chipped in with 13 in the winning effort
  • Florida National was led by Antonio Sims with 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
  • William Bunton of Florida National came off the bench to score 16 points on 3-6 shooting from behind the arc and 5-5 from the line.

NEXT UP

Berea College advances to face Concordia College Alabama tomorrow, March 2nd at 10:00 P.M. EST in the Men’s Division I semifinals at Main Arena. Florida National will match up against Iowa Wesleyan University in the consolation bracket tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. EST in Main Arena.  


#4 Illinois Tech vs. #5 Florida College

FINAL SCORE: #4 Illinois Tech 63, #5 Florida College 54
RECORDS: Illinois Tech 21-5, Florida College 15-10

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena, Uniontown, Pa.


 IN BRIEF: This 4/5 matchup came down to the final minute. Despite Illinois having control most of the game, late three pointers from Florida’s Zach Brock got the Falcons within 2 possessions of tying the game. But that’s where it ended, and Illinois used their depth to close out the game by nearly 10 points.

Illinois Tech was led by Samuel Rarick with 25 points and Jake Digiorgio with 15 rebounds. The Scarlet Hawks were just that – Hawks in the paint, outrebounding Florida 51-34 and outscoring them in the paint by 12 points.


 ON THE COURT

  • Illinois Tech established their presence on the blocks with big men Samuel Rarick and Jake Digiorgio.
  • Anthony Allen carried the load for Florida with 11 points in the first half.
  • The shots were falling for Illinois Tech in the first half; the Scarlet Hawks shot over 50% from the field.
  • Samuel Rarick had an efficient second half with 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
  • Illinois Tech held Florida College All-American Kent Hegarty to just 4 points.
BEHIND THE BOXSCORE
  • Florida College forced 29 turnovers which led to for the Falcons 26 points.
  • Illinois Tech’s largest lead was 15 points.
  • Illinois Tech reserve Max Hisitake added 10 points and 13 rebounds.
  • Both teams struggled at the free throw line, shooting below 60%.
 

NEXT UP

Illinois Tech advances to play the winner of the University of Maine Fort Kent at 8 PM in the Main Arena Thursday. Florida College will play a consolation game at 11:15 AM at Maltho tomorrow.

#2 Concordia College of Alabama Hornets vs #7 Iowa Wesleyan University Tigers 

FINAL SCORE: #2 Concordia College of Alabama Hornets 81, #7 Iowa Wesleyan University Tigers 71

RECORDS: Concordia College of Alabama 19-7; Iowa Wesleyan University 17-9

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.

IN BRIEF: In a game that saw Iowa Wesleyan take an early lead, Concordia College was able to overcome the early deficient to defeat the Tigers 81-71 in the quarterfinals of the USCAA Men’s Division I Basketball National Championship.


ON THE COURT

  • The Iowa Wesleyan University Tigers took an 18-8 lead after eight minutes of play.
  • Afterward, a Concordia run cut the lead to two just four minutes later. Brock Butler of the Tigers responding by hitting a three-pointer followed by a steal and foul, giving him six straight points for Iowa Wesleyan.
  • To finish out the first half, Concordia went on a 21-9 run to secure a four-point lead at the break. In that run they had a streak of eleven unanswered points.
  • The Hornets started the second half with a 9-2 run to put some distance between the teams, and continued to extend their lead throughout the early part of the second half.
  • Deangleo Anthony, Dennis Miles, and Tavin Cumming all scored in double-digits in the second half for the Hornets.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • Dennis Miles had a game-high 24 points along with 14 rebounds giving him a double-double in the contest.
  • The Soukup twins, Michael and Steven, of Iowa Wesleyan combined for 40 points, 21 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Each had a double-double on points and rebounds.
  • The Hornets made the most of turnovers, scoring 16 points compared to only four for Iowa Wesleyan. 

NEXT UP

Concordia College Alabama advances to play Berea College on Thursday, March 2nd at 10:00 P.M EST in the Main Arena in the USCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Semifinals. Iowa Wesleyan will face Florida National University in the morning at 10:00 A.M. EST in the consolation action at Main Arena.


Men's Division II Recaps

#7 NHTI vs. #10 Penn State Fayette

FINAL SCORE: #7 NHTI Lynx 94, #10 Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions 78

RECORDS: NHTI 22-12; Penn State Fayette 11-15

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.

IN BRIEF: Despite a late comeback by host Penn State Fayette, NHTI capitalized on over 50% shooting from the field to defeat the Roaring Lions 94-78 in the opening round of the 2017 Men’s Division II National Championship Tournament. 

ON THE COURT

  • With the score tight four minutes into the game, NHTI would go on a 21-9 run in the next six minutes to take a commanding lead.
  • Both teams would add another 20 points in the first half, giving NHTI a 48-35 lead going into the break.
  • Fayette chipped away at a commanding Lynx lead in the second half thanks to 13 points from guard Dominick Jackson.  The Roaring Lions closed the margin to 12 with just over one minute left in the second half, but would fall 94-78 in the end.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • NHTI spread their offensive attack well, with five players scoring in double digits (Dante Ramos, Raikwon Rodrigues, Michael Dejesus, Alex Cohen, and J’Quavious Thurmond).
  • Marius Turner, Ramos, Cohen, and Thurmond each had two steals for the Lynx.
  • Penn State Fayette was paced by Spencer Perieff who had 14 points and Jackson who ended the game with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals.
  • The Lynx were an impressive 53% shooting from the field on the evening.

NEXT UP

NHTI advances to the quarterfinals and will play the #2 seeded Central Penn College at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday in the Main Arena. Penn State Fayette will conclude their season against the loser of #8 Villa Maria College and #9 Andrews University.

#8 VILLA MARIA COLLEGE vs. #9 ANDREWS UNIVERSITY

FINAL SCORE: #8 Villa Maria 66, #9 Andrews 63
RECORDS: Villa Maria 19-11, Andrews College 17-13
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena, Uniontown, Pa.
IN BRIEF: Led by Gerald Bibbs’ 25 points, the Villa Maria College Vikings beat Andrews University in a nail biter 66-63. In what was a back and forth game with multiple lead changes, Villa Maria found themselves losing at the half by four and down by eight early in the second half. But they made adjustments and executed their game plan against the Andrews’ defense – shooting 70% from the field in the second half.

Possession after possession, Villa Maria fought its way back into the game. And at the 8:43 mark, Malcolm Hendrick’s three point shot gave Villa Maria its first lead of the half – and they never looked back. They  quietly extended their lead to as high as eight points with less than four minutes in regulation. Some late turnovers by Andrews proved costly, and Villa Maria’s strong shooting in the second half coupled with their full court press was the recipe to close out what was an entertaining final game of the day.

Andrews’ forward Robert Moon and guard Kris Owen were the workhorses for the Cardinals. They combined for 38 of the Cardinals’ 63 points. Moon was all over the floor – facing up defenders and driving to the basket, beating Villa Maria’s full court press, and pounding the glass. But in the second half, Villa Maria’s defense wore him down. Owen’s carried the load in the second half in which he scored 17 of his 21 points.

Reserve Dominic Douglas of Villa Maria provided a much-needed spark for Villa Maria in the second half. He finished with 17 points and 2 steals.


 ON THE COURT

  • Three Villa Maria players scored in double digits in the second half alone (Gerald Bibbs, Eric Waters, Dominic Douglas).
  • Villa Maria won the rebounding battle 41-29.
  • Villa Maria made an impressive 20 of 24 free throws. Andrews was 10 of 20.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • There were 8 lead changes.
  • Villa Maria had 26 turnovers. Andrews had 12.
  • Andrews’ Brandon vonDorpowski played a game high 38 minutes.

NEXT UP

Villa Maria advances to play the Berkeley College of New York at 5:30 PM in the Maltho Gymnasium Thursday. Andrews University will play a consolation game at 1:15 PM at Maltho Thursday.