Northwood Claims Conference Tournament Crown - Mar 6, 2014

The Northwood University (Fla.) men's basketball squad outlasted St. Thomas University, 94-82, in The Sun Conference Tournament Championship game, hosted by St. Thomas at the Fernandez Family Center Tuesday night. In their fifth straight trip to the finals, the Seahawks won their second conference title.

The Bobcats grabbed an early 9-8 on a three-pointer from senior guard Khaalis Coppock-Bey (6'2''-G). The Seahawks responded with a jumper from junior forward Fred Mattison (6'7''-F) on the ensuing possession to give Northwood a lead they wouldn't surrender. The Seahawks pushed their lead into the double digits behind a 12-2 run to take a 22-11 lead. Northwood maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the half, taking a 52-32 lead into halftime.

The teams exchanged baskets over the first five minutes of the second half, putting the score at 61-44 with 14:49 remaining. Mattison converted a layup in the paint to give the Seahawks their largest lead of the contest, 69-45, at the 12:26 mark. The Bobcats mounted one last comeback attempt, executing a 19-10 run over a six-minute span to cut their deficit to 79-64. A quick 7-0 run by Northwood stifled the comeback attempt. The Bobcats connected on late three-pointers to make the score respectable as the Seahawks cruised to a 94-82 win.

Northwood was powered by the duo of Mattison and junior guard Chris Solomon (6'3''-G) in the win. Solomon netted a game-high 25 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor, with nine rebounds and two assists. Mattison registered 23 points and five rebounds, while Lockhart added 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Ian Umpierre (5'9''-PG) dished out a game-high nine assists with seven points, and freshman forward Chris Lee (6'6''-F) had seven points and nine rebounds.

St. Thomas had five scorers reach double figures in points, led by a 20-point effort from Coppock-Bey. Senior forward Davorn Bryant (6'7''-F) scored 18 points, including 16 second-half points, while senior forward Demonte' Simpson (6'10''-C) recorded a double-double with a game-high 17 rebounds and 13 points. Senior guard Floyd Battle had 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists, and junior forward Lorel Beckford (6'4''-F) tallied 13 points in the loss.

Solomon was named tournament MVP. Mattison and Umpierre were named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Southeastern's Dwayne Johnson, Thomas' Justyn Watkins, and St. Thomas' Bryant.

The Seahawks edged the Bobcats, 38-36, in the rebounding battle. Northwood shot 55.9% (33-of-59) from the floor, including 57.1% (4-of-7) from three-point, and 66.7% (24-of-36) from the free throw line. St. Thomas was 38.9% (28-of-72) from the field, 33.3% (8-of-24) from three-point, and 58.1% (18-of-31) from the charity stripe.

With the victory, Northwood improves to 26-6 on the season, while St. Thomas drops to 25-6 overall.

Courtesy of TSC

TSC Tournament Final: Northwood - St. Thomas 94-82
TSC Tournament Semifinals:
Northwood - Southeastern 78-73
St. Thomas - Thomas 85-72

All-TSC 1st Team 2014

Solomon

Watkins

Johnson

Battle

Carter