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COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2011
‘It has been a tremendous run for us’ GRACE BIBLE CELEBRATES THIRD CONSECUTIVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY BRIAN VANOCHTEN
BY PAT DAILEY THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
PRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN
Strong support system: Basketball standout Allen Durham, right, of Grace Bible College, thanks his teammates for their great season and NCCAA Division ll National Championship during a celebration Monday in the college cafeteria.
championship in six seasons. It seemed as if the school’s total enrollment of 200 students filled the cafeteria. “It’s a nice way to do it,” Bailey said of sharing cake with the students, faculty, administration and families in attendance. “I like that these guys get some credit for all of the hard work they put into it.” Grace Bible (31-7) set a school record for most wins in a season. The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in the nation since January 2009, also set a record for most regular-season wins (25) and
stretched their NCCAA-II record to 58 consecutive wins during the past four seasons. The team posed for pictures Monday and placed its order for championship rings. It has special T-shirts printed that read: Back-to-Back-to-Back National Champions. Rya n K ro m b e e n , a junior from Grandville, can’t wait to add more rings to his collection. The challenge, he said, is to pursue a fourth national championship to commemorate each of his four years at the school. “Yeah, that is the goal,” he
said. “I’ve got two of them on right now and we get to order our (third) rings today. “I want to get another one next season.” The only thing missing from the celebration was the NCCAA-II trophy. “I think we forgot the championship trophy,” Bailey said with a chuckle. “The thing we went out there for, we might’ve forgot it. I’m pretty sure we left it in the gym. I’m sure we’ll find it and get it back up here.” E-mail: sports@grpress.com
Davenport beats Walsh on boards in semifinal Panthers prepare to face familiar foe in final BY TERRY HERSOM THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Even for a top-ranked and undefeated women’s basketball team, firing on all cylinders wasn’t really to be expected for its first national tournament semifinal. Davenport University, which leads the NAIA Division II in 3-pointers, was 4-of-18 from behind the arc. Then, there were those 17 first-half turnovers. It certainly wasn’t how coach Mark Youngs’ team played the past 36 games. But Davenport rode its rebounding skills to withstand an upset bid by fourth-
ranked Walsh and win 68-55 Monday night at the Tyson Events Center. Davenport senior guard Kallie Benike had 20 points and 1 5 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive boards. “She’s 5-8, and the girl has got about a 12-inch vertical jump,” Youngs said jokingly. Kallie “She attacked Benike the ball. She’s led us in rebounding for four years.” Said Benike: “You don’t really think about stats when you’re playing. You just think about winning and losing. What it came down to is I didn’t want to lose. “Walsh has a really good team. We have a great team.
It came down to who wants it. Twelve-inch vertical, 40-inch vertical, whatever. Who’s going to go and get the ball?” Davenport (37-0) faces No. 2-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) in the title game at 7 tonight. The Panthers gave Northwestern (33-1) its only loss earlier this season — 89-80 on Dec. 29 in Grand Rapids. Walsh (30-5) and Davenport battled back-and-forth well into the second half, with the Panthers leading 40-39 with 12 minutes remaining. Kristi Boehm, who finished with 12 points, gave her team a spark, igniting an 11-0 run on a 3-pointer with 11:50 remaining. Riana Hensley, a 6-3 junior transfer, had two of her teamleading four steals in a crucial spurt that gave the Panthers a 51-39 lead with 10 minutes left. “I think we just let up for a couple up minutes and they
went up double-digits,” said Cara Bedard, who led Walsh with 20 points and 15 rebounds. “It’s hard to come back against the No. 1 team in the nation.” Jessie Miller, a senior guard, had 14 points for the Cavs, who were riding a 25-game winning streak. The streak included a 22-0 mark since Miller, plagued by knee injuries, returned 12 games into the schedule to use up the one semester’s eligibility she had left. “We made a couple of turnovers, and we weren’t able to get it back and get in the flow offensively,” Walsh coach Laura Wartluft said. “I think the biggest thing that was really a hindrance was their offensive boards (Davenport’s 24 to Walsh’s 14). That was huge.” Walsh will move to NCAA Division II next season. E-mail: sports@grpress.com
MSU SPARTANS SAY TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE WILL HELP CONTINUED FROM C1
the 2009 national championship game to a superior North Carolina team, a 2007 secondround loss to North Carolina at Winston-Salem, N.C., and a 2003 regional final loss to Texas at San Antonio. The Spartans and UCLA have combined to appear in the past six Final Fours, although the senior-less Bruins’ last one was in 2008, when their oldest players were in high school. The Spartans have been in the last two. And they expressed surprising confidence that they could reach a third consecutive Final Fours after drawing a young opening opponent, then a potential Saturday matchup against No. 2 Florida, whose 77-74 win last year against MSU was aided by the Spartans’ season-worst 23 turnovers. Draymond Green said when
the Spartans talk about benefiting from NCAA tournament experience — their seniors are 11-3 in tournament games, the most wins of any active class in college basketball — it isn’t just the games, but also time management, the regimented open-practice and media schedules, the beyond-prying- Draymond eyes practices, Green and the copious hours of study. “It can mentally drain you,” Green said. “I think the experience of it all really helps. “It’s definitely more than just going out and playing the game, because everything leading up to the game is really what makes the game. It’s the film sessions, the practices,
the walk-throughs, how you approach things, how you carry yourself, all those different things that go into it, that you have to show the freshmen, because there’s no joking around. There’s none of that stuff that you may do in the regular season. It’s a whole different approach.” Green, after Sunday night’s selection show, said he would begin his video study of UCLA later that night. “There is no tomorrow, so if you wait until tomorrow, there won’t be one,” he said. The constant in the Spartans’ NCAA tournament is Izzo, who has presided over the school’s 14-year streak of tournament appearances, including a national title and six Final Fours in the past 12 years. “There’s nothing better than March, there really isn’t,” he said. “And there’s nothing
better than having to work when you know, probably, (it means) two or three points in a tournament game. It might be an inbounds play, it might be a free-throw cut out, it might be some of those things that you can control. “Unfortunately, it might be a missed free throw, or a couple of shots like (Penn State’s Talor) Battle hit (in MSU’s Big Ten tournament loss), that you can’t control. So what you try to do is control the things that you can control and see where it takes you.” Roe said MSU has developed a day-to-day mindset that serves them well in tournament play. “Winning a game against UCLA doesn’t mean that you’ve won the tournament,” he said. “OK, you won, now move on, who’ve you got next?” E-mail: dmayo@grpress.com
U-M HOPSON IS TENNESSEE’S GO-TO PLAYER CONTINUED FROM C1
Tennessee is going to attempt to beat Michigan in transition. The Volunteers like to push the ball offensively and create havoc defensively. They force turnovers on 20.8 percent of opponents’ possessions and average a little more than five possessions more per game than Michigan, indicating its style. Scotty Hopson is Tennessee’s go-to player. Kenpom.com
Cornerstone heads to NAIA D-II final Hudson scores 18 points, four 3-pointers against Florida school
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
WYOMING — The entire Grace Bible College men’s basketball team gathered in front of a packed cafeteria Monday on the campus of the small Christian school and received a standing ovation in appreciation of the Tigers winning their third consecutive national championship this past weekend. It’s a moment Allen Durham will never forget. “It’s very special,” said Durham, a senior forward, who led Grace Bible to a 76-56 victory against Valley Forge Christian on Saturday in the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II championship game in Springfield, Mo. “This is great. We’ve had great fan support all year. It has been a tremendous run for us.” Durham, a former Wyoming Park star, earned NCCAA-II player of the year honors. He proudly displayed all three national championship medals around his neck for the welcome-home reception. “I’ve been blessed with so muchtalentaroundme,”Durham said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more than what’s happened. It’s a great group of guys and a great team. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.” Gary Bailey, the NCCAA-II coach of the year, thanked the audience for supporting the Tigers and sharing in the celebration of the men’s basketball program’s fourth national
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
said 28.8 percent of Tennessee’s possessions end up with the ball in the 6-foot-7 guard’s hands when he is on the court. He also takes 31.4 percent of the Volunteers’ shots when he’s in the game. For Michigan to beat Tennessee, limiting Hopson is going to be a key. Tony Jones is a name to know. The Volunteers’ associate head coach is a Detroit native who graduated from Concordia-Ann Arbor. He
took over when Bruce Pearl was suspended for the team’s first eight SEC games, and there’s a good chance Jones leads his own program soon. Tennessee has its own impact freshman in forward Tobias Harris. The Dix Hills, N.Y., native was a McDonald’s All-American last year and has averaged 15.2 points and 7.3 rebounds this season. While Hopson is Tennessee’s go-to guy, Michigan is going to need
to be plenty concerned with the 6-foot-8 Harris. Michigan might have a bunch of NBA names on its roster, but Tennessee has one as well. Renaldo Woolridge is the son of former NBA allstar Orlando Woolridge, but the junior doesn’t figure much into the Tennessee rotation. He hasn’t played since January and is more known in Knoxville for his aspiring career as a rapper with the handle Swiperboy.
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — Wes Hudson has felt as if he is reliving his glory days at Wayland while starring at the NAIA Division II national tournament. The freshman guard had an exceptional night shooting Monday, hitting fo u r 3 - p o i n t goals to trigger No. 3-seeded Cornerstone’s 82-52 semifinal win against No. 2 seed North- Wes Hudson wood (Fla.). The Golden Eagles (33-4) face defending national champion Saint Francis (28-9) at 10 tonight in the championship game. Hudson hit all three of his 3-point attempts in the first half en route to an 18-point night. His performance would have been his career-high at Cornerstone as recently as a week ago, but ranks second to his 20-point outburst in the first round. He said had a feeling his shooting was going to stand out at the tourney at College of the Ozarks. “I said to all the guys, ‘I like these hoops. This kind of reminds me of high school,’ ” Hudson said. “They were all laughing at me. My high school gym wasn’t very nice and was old. This is a great gym, but it is old-school. “Tonight, my shot was feeling good during warm-ups and I was so geeked up about the game. I made my first layup. That’s always good to get going like that. Then, they left me open on a 3-pointer and I made it. My shot was feeling good, so I kept shooting. Hudson played for two
district championship teams at Wayland. Cornerstone coach Kim Elders said Hudson’s success falls in line with how he played in the postseason as a high-schooler. “When we recruited him, these are the things we expected from him,” Elders said. “He’s a big-time player. We knew he could shoot it and shoot it deep. He’s doing a lot of good things.” Said senior forward Kelvin DeVries: “He’s always poised and under control.” Cornerstone found plenty of openings against Northwood (33-4). The Seahawks’ pressure and defense away from the ball gradually decreased as the Golden Eagles’ lead increased. Cornerstone faced little resistance while making 10-of-18 3-pointers, shooting 57 percent overall and winning the battle of the boards 37-25. “We knew they were capable of coming back,” Hudson said. “We had some dumb turnovers, but hunkered down and bounced back from that by hitting some shots again. Then, they lost their intensity.” DeVries also had four 3-pointers in his 14-point night. A dozen Golden Eagles scored. Cornerstone and Saint Francis have a rich history. The Cougars ousted the Golden Eagles from last season’s tourney. Cornerstone won this season’s matchup 92-89 in overtime. “Last year, Saint Francis got hot at the time and I feel like we’re doing that now,” DeVries said. We’re playing our best ball of the season. We’re taking care of all the little things, which leads to big wins. The ball is bouncing the right way for us.” DeVries, taking note of tonight’s starting time, said he is confident the Golden Eagles’ fans will stay up late to watch them on CBS College Sports Network. “Maybe they’ll have to move back some classes Wednesday morning,” he said. E-mail: sports@grpress.com
New TV deal changes how fans watch tourney Four stations will broadcast games THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — For all you college basketball fans who’ve moaned over the years that you could do a better job of switching among NCAA tournament games than CBS — here is your chance. If a team leads by 30 points Thursday afternoon while another game is tied in the final seconds, CBS won’t budge. Viewers will hold all the power in their remote controls. The NCAA tournament’s new 14-year, $10.8 billion TV deal with two media companies radically changes how a nation of bracket-fillers will watch March Madness. Every game will be broadcast nationally in its entirety, spread across four networks — old standby CBS, plus three Turner cable channels in TNT, TBS and truTV. “That’s going to take some getting used to, but it’s a better programming option for the viewer at home and the basketball fan,” CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said in an interview with The Associated Press. “More work on his or her part to find the game, but they get to decide what game they want to watch. In the past, I think we did a very good job of moving around, but it was our decision.” To which fans might say: Sounds great, but what’s truTV? It’s the channel formerly known as Court TV, available in 80 percent of American homes, according to Nielsen. That is a bit less than the 87 percent for the much-better-known TNT and TBS, which also have the distinction of airing other sports including the NBA and
Major League Baseball. Even TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley, who will work the studio show as part of the partnership, grilled his boss last week about truTV not being available in many hotels. Turner Sports chief David Levy explained truTV was in more homes than ESPNU or ESPNews. His point: Any NCAA deal to put the tournament on four networks would almost certainly include at least one channel with somewhat limited reach. “One reason why we invested in this was to get people to know where truTV was,” Levy told the AP. “That’s part of the reason why you put the kind of money up that we are.” With 13 more seasons on the deal, McManus and Levy are confident viewers will get the hang of finding truTV and flipping among four networks. For now, the challenge is to alleviate growing pains. Announcers will encourage fans to switch to closer games on other channels. The scores — and networks — of the three other contests will always sit at the top of the screen. March Madness on Demand, which still will stream games for free online, will allow fans to enter their zip code and provider to tell them exactly where truTV is. Levy believes social networking will be a big help, too. There will be no regionalization. In the past, fans in, say, western Pennsylvania always could watch Pittsburgh’s games on CBS. On Thursday, the top-seeded Panthers’ opener will be on truTV everywhere. McManus and Levy said they weren’t too concerned about the effect on hometown fans who don’t get the cable channels, since they can still watch for free online.