Trailing 78-71 with 51 seconds left, the McPherson College men rallied to beat Dordt 82-78 on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II national tournament at Point Lookout, Mo.
The win advances the Bulldogs to their first Final Four in school history.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” McPherson coach Tim Swartzendruber said. “Our guys were unbelievable, they never gave up.”
Trailing 78-71, the Bulldogs hit three consecutive three-pointers, with Samson Shivers’ three giving them an 80-78 lead with 14 seconds to play.
McPherson native Chris Crawford hit two free throws with two seconds left to seal the win.
“I don’t know how they did it,” Swartzendruber said. “This group is unbelievable … they just make plays.”
Jordan Crawford led McPherson with 14 points and 10 rebounds. There were three other Bulldogs in double figures – Samson Shivers (13), Adam Bruner (12), Aaron Frazier (11) and Chris Crawford (11).
McPherson plays the winner of Northwood (Fla.)-Northwest (Wash.) in one of Monday’s semifinals. The championship game is Tuesday.
Northwest is coached by former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino.
The McPherson College men’s basketball team is back in the NAIA Division II Elite Eight for the second straight year.
The Bulldogs defeated Saint Thomas (Fla.) 86-74 today at Point Lookout, Mo., and will play Dordt (Iowa) College on Saturday at 1 p.m. with Mac’s 1st Final Four berth in school history on the line.
“Our guys have been really focused all year, but obviously we want to take another step,” McPherson coach Tim Swartzendruber said. “Our guys are just really excited. For us, it’s just a lot of excitement and we’re very proud to have the opportunity to play tomorrow.”
With McPherson and Saint Thomas tied at 52-52, The Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run behind two 3s from KCAC player of the year Aaron Frazier and never trailed again. McPherson shot 67 percent from beyond the arc in the win and hit a tournament-high 12 3s.
Frazier led the Bulldogs with 23 points and sophomore guard Samson Shivers added 19 points. Both Frazier and Shivers both hit five 3s. McPherson native Jordan Crawford chipped in with 17 points.
I thought this was an interesting side note – the Bulldogs went and volunteered time at an abused women’s shelter after their win on Friday. I spoke with Swartzendruber on the way to the shelter and he said the team would go eat after their time volunteering and then go to the hotel to break down film.
TA
PS. I’ll be at Region VI starting Sunday through (possibly) Tuesday. I’ll post our preview here soon – focused on Butler guard Jamillah Bonner.
Taking a look at the NAIA Division II Tournaments this week at Point Lookout, Mo. (Men) and Sioux City, Iowa (Women). McPherson’s got a real shot at this thing, y’all. I’m covering the Region VI playoffs from Sunday through the finals on Tuesday (NCAA travel plans permitting), so stay tuned…
Here’s the link to my story that ran in today’s Eagle on the KCAC title games – my focus was on the women’s game and Southwestern guard Brett Bates, the KCAC player of the year. The Jinx takes on Sterling at 6:10 tonight followed by the men’s title game, which is No. 5 McPherson against Saint Mary’s. They’re both being played at Hartman Arena.
And here’s Eagle columnist Bob Lutz’s take on the McPherson men’s team, which reached the NAIA Division II Elite Eight last season and are a legit national title contender this season. I’ve said this for a long time, but the KCAC needs to at least make it to a national title game (winning would be great) to be considered an elite conference at its level. For a Division I equivalent, think of the KCAC like a mid-low major.
I believe Taylor Eldridge is covering the games for us tonight.
Wichita native and Arizona assistant Chance Lindley has been named the women’s basketball coach at Nebraska-Omaha. A month ago, kind of a big deal. Now? A huge deal, because the Mavericks are now a Division I basketball program. They announced the hiring on Saturday – just last month UNO dropped a bombshell on the MIAA by jetting to the D1 Summit League and dropping football and wrestling.
I talked to Lindley on Saturday afternoon, and he was … psyched. Can’t blame him. He’s 35 and he’s reached a major career goal.
“I’m a midwest guy so getting to come back home is a huge thrill,” Lindley said. “Honestly, this did happen for me a little sooner than I thought it would … I’m fortunate to have moved up so quickly.”
“We had strong interest in this position from coaches around the nation, and there were many strong candidates,” said UNO AD Trev Alberts in a statement. “In the end, we were impressed by Chance’s energy and passion as well as his proven track record as a head coach. We think he will be a significant asset in our transition to Division I.”
Lindley won a Region VI title at Barton CC in 2008 and came there after winning a Class 3A state title at Collegiate in 2006. He told me he’s going to aggressively pursue Jayhawk Conference and Wichita-area recruits. With that kind of background here and a Division I program to sell … he could make life hard on the three in-state schools pretty quickly.
Saturday, his phone was ringing off the hook with calls from well-wishers.
“It’s an exciting time,” Lindley said. “And it’s cool for me that people back home, where I grew up, get to hear about this and know what I’m doing. That’s huge for me.”
Big day at Butler Community College as men’s forward Andre Ingram signed a letter of intent to play for Minnesota and Tubby Smith. Even better? The 6-foot-7, 235-pound sophomore is from Minneapolis.
“It’s just amazing to think that I get to go home,” Ingram said. “I went to visit the campus and was just blown away by how nice everything was, and my family has never been able to watch me play the last two years but they’re going to now.”
And what did Smith tell him?
“He said he thought the way I played fit their system and he thought I could make an impact,” Ingram said. “He’s definitely a hard person to say ‘no’ to.”
This marks the second year in a row that the Grizzlies and coach Mike Bargen have sent a forward to a high-major school, with Ingram following Caleb Walker, the Region VI player of the year who signed with Nebraska last year and had a nice season for the Huskers, who just missed out on the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re awfully excited for Andre to get the opportunity to play in the Big Ten, to get to got home,” Bargen said. “I’m not sure he understood what college basketball was all about, about the hard work it took to succeed when he first came here. He’s a different person now than he was then though … you could see the change.”
Interesting bit of hiring news today out of the MIAA today as Emporia State names Boise State assistant coach Shaun Vandiver as its new men’s basketball coach. For those of you who have been around these parts long enough, that name might be familiar because Vandiver helped lead Hutchinson Community College to a national championship in 1988 and then was a star player at Colorado for the next three years, earning Big Eight newcomer of the year honors his first season and All-Big Eight kudos the last two.
Vandiver was a first-round pick by Golden State in 1991, but never played in the NBA, instead spending nine seasons playing for some of the top-level clubs in Europe. He’s been back in the states coaching for the last 10 years, including stints as an assistant at Wyoming, Bowling Green State University, and Northern Colorado.
I just spoke with Vandiver a few minutes ago and he told me he’s already been on the phone recruiting today. Big props on that, because the Hornets will need it. ESU has been stuck in the middle of the pack in the MIAA the last couple of years, and with the MIAA reforming into what should be the premiere NCAA Division II conference in the country by expanding to 16 (er, 15 right now, but that’s another subject) teams. There’s no dominant men’s basketball program in this league, unlike some other sports. And at ESU, with the football team as bad as it has been, there’s an impetus on sports like baseball, softball and basketball performing at high levels. Helps make those ugly, ugly falls a little easier to deal with, I’d guess.
I’d hesitate to even say there is a hierarchy in the MIAA in men’s hoops because the teams at the top are so different from year to year. So it’s anybody’s game. What Vandiver has working for him is a massive network of connections plus his own experience as a player and a coach. What he’s got working against him is he’s never been a head coach before. Which can be a bigger deal then you think. I don’t care what level you’re at, once you become The Man things change. Check Tuesday’s Eagle for our article on the hiring.
I’m out.
TA
PS. One month away? Had to hit it right on the dot, I guess.
Lost in all the hullaballo surrounding the Big 12 Tournament, state high school tournaments and Selection Sunday … the McPherson College men’s team is making a historic run at the NAIA Division II Men’s Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo., continued today with a 77-58 win over Warner Pacific (Ore.) in Point Lookout, Mo.
The Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in school history, where they will take on Cornerstone (Mich.) today at 3 p.m.
McPherson was playing without starting point guard Trent Severs, who injured his ankle in the opening-round win over Embry Riddle.
“We felt fortunate that we could play without Trent, who is our undisputed team leader, and overcome that for a win,” McPherson coach Tim Swartzendruber said. “Warner tried to zone us and we really shot the ball well.”
Aaron Frazier led the Bulldogs with 18 points and Aaron Jackson added 15.
“At the college they’ve got a big stage set up in cafeteria. Packed, from what we hear, the whole campus is electrified by this thing,” Swartzendruber said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
And in case you’re wondering … semifinals Monday night, championship game Tuesday.
Final day at Koch Arena – today we’ve got the Region VI finals for both the men and women with the region’s lone bids for the national tournament on the line. Lots of good memories of going to these finals at Levitt Arena when I was a kid.
WOMEN
Cloud 46, Hutchinson 45 FINAL Cloud led 24-21 at halftime. Klara Wischer hits 1 of 2 free throws with 52 seconds left for the win. Cloud coach Brett Erkenbrack wins first Region VI title since 2001, when he also won national title. NJCAA women’s tourney begins March 15 in Salina.
MEN
Coffeyville 73, Seward 69 FINAL Coffeyville led 25-24 at halftime.
Day 3 at Koch Arena … Region VI men’s and women’s semifinals on tap today. Expecting to see an influx of 4-year schools descending today for the semifinals. I’ve been told West Virginia coach Bob Huggins will be here at 5 p.m. (UPDATE: Huggins didn’t come, but sent assistant coach Erik Martin) to watch Seward guard Jeremy Jones in his semifinal game against Cowley. The matchup between Jones and Cowley guard Tyrus McGee, who is signed with Iowa State, should be fun to watch. Here’s my story on Hutch’s OT win over Independence last night.
I’ll update with scores as I get them …
WOMEN’S SEMIFINALS
Hutchinson 55, Independence 50 FINAL Hutchinson led 30-16 at halftime. Blue Dragons hit seven 3-pointers in the first half. Hutch earns spot in Region VI finals tomorrow night.
Cloud 66, Cowley 62 FINAL Cloud led 33-30 at half. Symone Murray missed 2 fts with 2.4 seconds left that would have tied it at 62-62.
Hutch vs. Cloud in Monday’s final … tips at 6 p.m.
MEN’S SEMIFINALS
Seward 71, Cowley 67 FINAL Cowley led 37-32 at halftime. Jones was amazing … scored game-winner on breakaway layup with 19 seconds left and led all scorers with 29 points.
Coffeyville 68, Hutchinson 58 FINAL CCC led 32-28 at halftime. Still no Region VI title for Steve Eck.
