Thrice As Nice: Bulldogs Capture Third AAC Tourney Title in a Row - Feb 29, 2016

New year, new team, but same result. Union College captured its third Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament championship in a row with 71-57 victory over No. 5 seed Bluefield College on Saturday.
Held at the MeadowView Marriott in Kingsport, Tenn., the second-seeded Bulldogs used hot 3-point shooting midway through the second half to give themselves some breathing room en route to the 14-point win and championship.
For Union head coach Kevin Burton , he is simply thrilled to have his players get to enjoy this championship.
"When you think about people like T.J. Jones (6'4''-F) (SR/Spartanburg, S.C.), Sean Brown (6'2''-G) (JR/Louisville, Ky. ), J.D. Tucker (6'1''-G) (SR/Charleston, S.C.) and Dalton Whitney (5'10''-PG) (JR/Bowling Green, Ky. ), my heavens, I'm so happy for them to get to experience this because they've earned it; they deserve it," he said. "Not only are they good kids to coach, but they're some of the finest people you'd ever want to associate yourself with."
This is the third year in a row Union has won both the AAC regular-season and tournament championships. While the No. 2 seed, Union shared the regular-season crown with Tennessee Wesleyan College this season. Since 2011, Union has won four of the six tournament championships.
Levon Harper (6'9''-F) (JR/Danville, Va.) proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the paint for Union (28-6 overall) all tournament long, earning him Tournament MVP honors.
"Thank you, Levon Harper, for being the guy I was hoping he'd be when I started recruiting him a year ago," Burton said. "His timing in stepping up could not have been any better. For him to get the MVP is super cool."
In all three tournament games, Harper came off the bench, averaging 13.0 points and 9.33 rebounds per game. He shot a tournament-best 70.8 percent from the floor, hitting 17-of-24 shots. Harper's 6-foot-9 frame came up big on the offensive glass as 11 of his 28 total rebounds were offensive.
Not surprisingly, Gerrard Newby (6'5''-F) (JR/Lexington, Ky. ) and Nick Riley (6'1''-PG) (SR/Hopkinsville, Ky.) joined Harper on the All-Tournament Team as the duo has been key fixtures in the Bulldogs' success. Newby averaged 16.7 points per game, while Riley led Union with a 20.3 average. The surprise addition to All-Tournament Team for Union was Sam Natt (6'0''-PG) (JR/Los Angeles, Calif.).
Heading into the tournament, Natt had appeared in only seven game and scored a total of 13 points. At Kingsport, he averaged 11 points per game and posted a season-high 19 in the Bulldogs' tournament-opening win over Montreat College.
"I tell the guys all the time, 'your book does not say 'the end' yet,'" Burton said. "Sam Natt, four days ago, nobody in our conference knew who he was. Today, he's on the all-tournament team. How awesome is that."
Play was tight through much of the first half with nine lead changes and four ties. Riley scored right before the half to give Union a 33-31 lead.
The Bulldogs never trailed again.
Up 42-40 midway through the second half, Union hit three consecutive 3-pointers during a 9-3 spurt to give it some breathing up. Newby drained back-to-back 3s and Sean Brown added the other for a 51-43 edge at the 12:13 mark.
"We were in good shape before that, up four. But hitting those gave us enough of a margin of error that Bluefield was going to have to play superbly to come back and beat us," said Burton.
Harper scored with 6:02 remaining to push Union's margin to 64-49, the team's largest lead of the night. Once the Bulldogs built the double-digit margin, the Rams (19-13 overall) could not climb back in it. Bluefield got the deficit down to 10 with 50 seconds to play, but Riley hit four free throws in the waning moments to seal the 71-57 win.
Riley paced Union with 21 points, while Newby followed with 15. Harper posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
For Bluefield, Zeke Williams (6'4''-G) set the pace with 13 points, and Cordaris Towns (6'7''-F) helped out with 11 points and eight rebounds. Alonzo Howard (6'6''-F) and Sidney Knox (5'9''-PG) each contributed 10 points. Williams, Towns and Knox represented the Rams on the All-Tournament Team.
With the tournament title in hand, Union receives an automatic berth to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament. The pairings will be announced next week, and the tournament takes place March 9-15 in Point Lookout, Mo. Tennesseee Wesleyan College, the regular-season co-champion, also advances to nationals.

Courtesy of AAC Sports

AAC Tournament Final: Union - Bluefield 71-57
AAC Tournament Semifinals:
Bluefield - Tennessee Wesleyan 72-66
Union - Reinhardt 98-90