Vanguard beats Emmanuel 70-65 to win NAIA title - Mar 26, 2014 
Preston Wynne (6'1''-G) spent six years between high school and
junior college. He did construction work for a while, cared for his two
children, even taught junior high basketball on the Spokane Indian
Reservation in Washington. As he climbed up a ladder inside Municipal
Auditorium on Tuesday night, and gently cut down his piece of the net,
he couldn't help but think about how far he'd come. Wynne had just
scored 20 points to lead No. 6 seed Vanguard of California to a 70-65
victory over No. 8 seed Emmanuel of Georgia on Tuesday night in the NAIA
national championship game. "I can't believe this," he said, smiling. "I
don't know what to say." The senior guard, who scored 42 points in a
semifinal win over St. Gregory's of Oklahoma, was chosen the
tournament's most valuable player. And while he high-fived his teammates
and posed for pictures, nobody could convince him that he wasn't on
basketball's biggest stage. "The thing about Preston, there's guys out
there like him with a similar story," Vanguard coach
Rhett Soliday said, "but there's not many with that kind of
character and determination."
Chris Gorman (5'11''-PG) added 18 points, and
Keith Mason (6'8''-F) finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for
Vanguard (32-6), a school of about 1,500 students located in Costa Mesa,
Calif. Michael Stanley had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Emmanuel
(33-4), which had never won an NAIA tournament game in three previous
trips.
Patrick McCrary (6'5''-F) added 10 points and nine rebounds. "Credit
them. They're a good team," Emmanuel coach
T.J. Rosene said. "I'm proud of my guys." Emmanuel, located in
Franklin Springs, Ga., jumped ahead early, but Wynne eventually knocked
down a 3-pointer with about 12 minutes left in the first half to
jumpstart Vanguard's offense. Even when Wynne took a seat with two fouls
later in the half, the Golden State Athletic Conference school built on
their lead without their top scorer. Gorman drove baseline and got a
floater to go that made it 29-21 with a couple minutes left before the
break. "We just always try to be aggressive," Gorman said. Emmanuel
scored six straight points spanning halftime to nip into the lead, and
after Vanguard had stretched it back to 45-35 midway through the second
half, the tiny school from the Southern States Athletic Conference went
on a 9-2 charge to make things interesting. Every time that Emmanuel got
close, though, Vanguard answered the call. Stanley's 3-pointer with just
over 20 seconds left allowed Emmanuel to close within 67-62, but it took
half the remaining time to get a foul as Vanguard played keep-away.
Noel Larkins (6'2''-G) was finally fouled and made two free throws,
and Stanley's 3 at the other end bounced off the rim. Mason pulled down
the rebound and put the game away from the foul line. When the final
buzzer sounded, the Vanguard players spilled off their bench and met at
midcourt, where they jumped up in joyous celebration. Their small
collection of fans joined in, celebrating the school's first national
championship. "We were just able to make a few more plays," Soliday
said. "Our guys believed from Day 1. They have a strong faith in each
other. And this may not be a big dream to a lot of people, but it's a
huge dream to us." Courtesy of: usatoday.com
All-Tournament MVP: Preston Wynne (6'1''-G) of Vanguard Player of the Year: Dominique Rambo (6'0''-PG) of SAGU Hustle Award: Luke Thomas (6'8''-F) of MidAmerica Naz. Coach of the Year: Rhett Soliday of Vanguard 1st Team G: De'End Parker (6'6''-G-91) of CSU San Marcos PG: Devin Griffin (6'0''-PG) of Columbia, MO G: Michael Stanley (6'1''-G) of Emmanuel, GA F/C: Kyle Teichmann (6'6''-F/C) of Freed-Hardeman G: Monty Wilson (6'4''-G) of Georgetown, KY F/G: Brandon Davis (6'3''-F/G-88) of LSU-Shreveport F: Bruce Reed (6'8''-F) of Pikeville PG: Dominique Rambo (6'0''-PG) of SAGU G: Preston Wynne (6'1''-G) of Vanguard G/F: Daron Bell (6'3''-G/F) of William Carey 2nd Team PG: Talib Uqdah (5'11''-PG-82) of Ariz.Christian PG: Melvin Tillman (6'0''-PG) of Cent.Methodist G: Reggie Burke (6'2''-G) of Co.Georgia F/G: Zack Kleine (6'5''-F/G) of Evangel G: Marcel Towns (6'2''-G) of Great Falls PG: Semar Farris (5'5''-PG) of MidAmerica Ch. G: Xavier Roberson (6'1''-G-90) of Our Lady Lake G: Keala King (6'5''-G) of Pikeville PG: Marty Wilkerson (5'9''-PG-92) of St.Gregory PG: Chris Gorman (5'11''-PG) of Vanguard 3rd Team F: James Johnson (6'5''-F) of Culver Stockton G/F: Cameron Lewis (6'3''-G/F) of Fisk G: Latraius Mosley (6'6''-G) of Life G: Craig Anderson (6'3''-G) of Lindenwood-Bellev. F: Luke Thomas (6'8''-F) of MidAmerica Naz. G: Xavielle Brown (6'2''-G) of Park F: Chris Cantino (6'8''-F) of Pikeville G: Tyree Anderson (6'3''-G) of Rocky Mountain G: Brandon Peters (6'2''-G) of Talladega G: Markus Monroe (6'2''-G) of Wayland Baptist Honorable Mention Sedrick Johnson (6'1''-G) of Avila Charlie Wallrapp (6'6''-F) of Benedictine, KS Andres Murillo (6'7''-F-90) of Biola, CA Darrie Stephens (6'7''-F) of Brewton-Parker Malcolm Lemmons (6'4''-G/F) of CSU San Marcos Eric Gaines (6'4''-F-92) of Campbellsville R.J. Scott (6'4''-G-91) of Cumberlands Antonio Valiente (6'3''-G) of Edward Waters Orlando Bass (6'1''-G) of Freed-Hardeman Gilbert Gyamfi (6'4''-G) of John Brown McCall Tomeny (6'6''-F-92) of Loyola, LA William Nelson (6'7''-F-89) of LSU-Shreveport Jordan Layrock (6'6''-F) of Lyon Everrett Pleasant (6'6''-C) of Northwood, TX Aaron Abram (6'5''-F) of Oklah.Baptist R.J. McGhee (6'6''-F) of Oklahoma City D'Alvin Brown (5'9''-PG) of Philander Smith Elisha Justice (5'10''-PG-90) of Pikeville Jeremy Nicolas (6'6''-F) of Rocky Mountain Joel Barndt (6'9''-F) of Rocky Mountain Jahseth Lloyd (6'7''-F) of Oklahoma S&A Cameron Solomon (6'3''-G-92) of S.Wesleyan Bryan Kaase (6'4''-F) of St.Thomas, TX Tallon Robertson (6'6''-F) of Westminster, UT Christopher Miller (6'7''-F) of Westmont Phillip Miller (6'1''-G) of Wiley Donovan Walker (6'4''-G/F) of William Carey James McClain (6'4''-F/G) of Williams Baptist Sydney Coleman (6'7''-F) of Xavier, LA All-Tournament Team G: Preston Wynne (6'1''-G) of Vanguard PG: Chris Gorman (5'11''-PG) of Vanguard G: Michael Stanley (6'1''-G) of Emmanuel, GA F: Adrian Justice (6'4''-F) of Emmanuel, GA F: Luke Thomas (6'8''-F) of MidAmerica Naz. PG: Nick Syrie (5'11''-PG) of MidAmerica Naz. F/C: Kyle Teichmann (6'6''-F/C) of Freed-Hardeman G: Orlando Bass (6'1''-G) of Freed-Hardeman G: Monty Wilson (6'4''-G) of Georgetown, KY PG: Marty Wilkerson (5'9''-PG-92) of St.Gregory Division I All-Stars Best Division II Squad, 120-107 - Mar 26, 2014 Six players scored in double-figures as the NAIA Division I All-Star's took down the NAIA Division II All-Star's, 120-107 in the inaugural NABC-NAIA Men's Basketball All-Star Game, presented by US Bank. The contest was part of the 2014 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship played at Municipal Auditorium on Saturday evening. Dominique Rambo (6'0''-PG) of SAGU (Texas) was named the NABC-NAIA Men's Basketball All-Star Most Valuable Player. He finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists for the victors. Bruce Reed (6'8''-F) of Pikeville (Ky.) tied with team-high scoring honors with 23 points. Coach Don Meyer, who was a former coach at Hamline (Minn.), Lipscomb (Tenn.) and Northern State (S.D.), was the Division I All-Stars mentor tonight. "The tournament is so well organized," said Meyer, who is a NAIA Hall of Famer. "Everything is so precise and everything keeps moving and it's such a great event. I am so impressed with the family atmosphere of this event. You never want to lose that... it's beautiful. The things you all do for the kids and community service, we never want to lose that because that is what the NAIA is." The Division I All-Star's put together an 11-4 run to close the first half to put the game away. They led 68-48 at the half. Rambo had already put in 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the first 20 minutes. Division II All-Star Joe Mitchell (6'1''-G) of Friends (Kan.) led all scorers with 20 points by the break. The Division II squad went on a 10-2 run late in the second half, but the scoring by the Division I All-Star's was too much. Mitchell ended his night with 34 points for Division II to lead all players. Adam Herman (6'6''-F) of Concordia (Ore.) was next with 12, Joshua Hart (6'6''-F) of Virginia Intermont had 11 and Dwayne Johnson (6'1''-G) of Southeastern (Fla.) and Brad Karp (6'5''-G-91) of Saint Xavier (Ill.) each finished with 10. Marcel Towns (6'2''-G) of Great Falls (Mont.) chipped in 13 points for the Division I All-Star's, while Darrie Stephens (6'7''-F) of Brewton-Park (Ga.) had 12, while Brandon Davis of LSU Shreveport (La.) and Latraius Mosley of Life (Ga.) each posted 10. All 20 players on the rosters each put points in the scoring column. The Division I team shot 58.2 percent (46-of-79) from the field and held a 49-40 rebounding advantage. The Division II All-Star's forced 20 turnovers and had 31 points off of turnovers. "I was definitely honored to be able to do this, especially against coach Meyer," said NAIA Hall of Famer Al Waller, who coached the Division II All-Star's and is at College of the Ozarks (Mo.). "There was a lot of great talent and it was a fun experience. I think I could have won a few NAIA Division II national championships with this team. Being around coach Meyer -- we have been friends for a long time and I haven't seen him -- to me, that was the highlight of the whole thing."
Courtesy of NAIA
1 Markus Monroe (6'2''-G) of Wayland Baptist University 2 Darrie Stephens (6'7''-F) of Brewton-Parker College 3 Xavier Roberson (6'1''-G-90) of Our Lady of the Lake 4 Zack Kleine (6'5''-F/G) of Evangel University 5 Marcel Towns (6'2''-G) of Great Falls 7 Latraius Mosley (6'6''-G) of Life 10 Brandon Davis (6'3''-F/G-88) of LSU Shreveport 12 Bruce Reed (6'8''-F) of Pikeville 13 Joel Barndt (6'9''-F) of Rocky Mountain Coach: Don Meyer
0
Derek Semenas (6'3''-G) of Cardinal Stritch University of
Cardinal Stritch
1 Joe Mitchell (6'1''-G) of Friends College of Friends 2 Dwayne Johnson (6'1''-G) of Southeastern University of Southeastern 3 Devin Harris (6'0''-PG) of Oklahoma Wesleyan University of Oklahoma Wesleyan 4 Idris Ibn Idris (6'5''-G) of Bethany College, KS of Bethany 5 Joshua Hart (6'6''-F) of Virginia Intermont 6 Kyle Lindbergh (6'7''-F) of Dordt 8 Justyn Watkins (6'5''-F-89) of Thomas 10 Adam Herman (6'6''-F) of Concordia 12 Brad Karp (6'5''-G-91) of Saint Xavier Coach: Al Waller
IWU Claims 2014 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship - Mar 24, 2014  No.5 Indiana Wesleyan won its first ever NAIA
Division II Men's Basketball National Championship with a 78-68
victory over No. 10 Midland (Neb.) tonight at the Keeter Gymnasium
on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.Behind a 21-point and five assist effort by championship most outstanding player Jordan Weidner (6'2''-G), the Wildcats captured its first national title in this, their seventh appearance in the 32-team championship. Indiana Wesleyan won all five games at this year's event by double digits and finish the season with a 31-6 record, the most wins in Division II this season. 'We were in control throughout the game,' commented head coach Greg Tonagel . 'I felt good about our guys and they have been locked in since we got out here. To win every single game by double digits speaks of the focus and energy that we had. With the senior leadership of Jordan, he just wasn't going to let us lose.' Indiana Wesleyan never trailed in tonight's contest, opening up a nine-point lead (16-7) after a three-pointer by R.J. Mahurin (6'9''-F-90). They went up by as much as 10 moments later until Midland rallied with an 11-2 surge and following an Avery Langford three-pointer, the Warriors were within one (19-18). The teams traded baskets over the final four minutes of the half. Midland senior Ben Imig (5'11''-PG-91) knocked down a long three-pointer, his only basket of the first half, to make it a three-point game but Weidner hit the final shot of the half to put Indiana Wesleyan up five, 36-31, at the break. Still a four point game early in the second frame, Indiana Wesleyan began to pull away, using a 9-0 run, getting baskets by RJ Mahurin, Bob Peters (6'2''-G) and a three-pointer by Zac Vandewater. Imig brought Midland back to within seven moments later but IWU responded with a 13-4 run, capped by a jumper by Weidner, for its largest lead of 17 (69-52) with five minutes left to go. Midland made one final charge and after a basket by Galen Gullie (5'7''-PG-92), were down seven (70-63) with 2:22 left but free throws by Weidner and Lane Mahurin (6'7''-F) down the stretch iced it for the Wildcats. Indiana Wesleyan shot 44% for the game and had four players score in double figures. In addition to Weidner, RJ Mahurin scored 19 and Lane Mahruin chipped in 11 to go with seven rebounds. Vandewater recorded a double-double with 10 points, 10 boards and dished out five assists. Indiana Wesleyan once again shot well from the free throw line, as they had for the entire championship, going 20-for-26 (81%). The Wildcats set the championship record with 128 free throws made over the five games, breaking the old mark (108) set by Northwestern College (Iowa) in 2008. "I can't put this into words. It's such a reward for all the hard work, all the extra time and all the practices,' said Weidner. 'This just makes it all so worth it and I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to do it with.' Imig closes his career at Midland with 17 points, scoring 15 in the second half. Marcus Franklin (6'3''-G) netted 15 and Alex Starkel just missed out on a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. The Warriors shot 39% from the field, 31% from the three-point arc. Midland finishes the season with a 30-6 overall record. Both teams grabbed 37 rebounds and registered 13 turnovers. Indiana Wesleyan closed the season by winning 14 of its last 15 games.
2014 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball
All-Championship Team:
Joe Mitchell (6'1''-G) of Friends (Kan.) Dwayne Johnson (6'1''-G) of Southeastern (Fla.) Timothy Mitchell (6'9''-C) of Southeastern (Fla.) Dominez Burnett (6'5''-F-92) of Davenport (Mich.) R.J. Mahurin (6'9''-F-90) of Indiana Wesleyan Ben Imig (5'11''-PG-91) of Midland (Neb.) Galen Gullie (5'7''-PG-92) of Midland (Neb.) Jarrell Turner (6'3''-G) of Robert Morris (Ill.) Alec Schwab (6'1''-G-93) of William Penn (Iowa) Kelly Madison (6'3''-G/F-93) of William Penn (Iowa)
Courtesy of NAIA
Player of the Year: Joe Mitchell (6'1''-G) of Friends 1st Team F: Dominez Burnett (6'5''-F-92) of Davenport F: Adam Herman (6'6''-F) of Concordia, OR PG: Wes Hudson (6'0''-PG) of Cornerstone G: Dwayne Johnson (6'1''-G) of Southeastern G: Brad Karp (6'5''-G-91) of St.Xavier F: Kyle Lindbergh (6'7''-F) of Dordt G: Joe Mitchell (6'1''-G) of Friends G: Derek Semenas (6'3''-G) of Cardinal Stritch G: Chris Solomon (6'3''-G) of Northwood, FL G: Jordan Weidner (6'2''-G) of Ind.Wesleyan 2nd Team G: Aaron Evans (6'2''-G-90) of Marian, IN PG: Devin Harris (6'0''-PG) of Okla.Wesleyan G: Mark Hoge (6'3''-G) of Jamestown G: Idris Ibn Idris (6'5''-G) of Bethany, KS F: R.J. Mahurin (6'9''-F-90) of Ind.Wesleyan F: Shane Merryman (6'5''-F) of Huntington G: Nick Reed (6'4''-G) of Doane G: Danny Rudeen (6'3''-G) of Morningside F: Eric Thompson (6'7''-F) of S.Oregon F: Justyn Watkins (6'5''-F-89) of Thomas Univ. 3rd Team F: Michael Greene (6'5''-F) of Northwest F: Joshua Hart (6'6''-F) of Va Intermont F: Scott Kohne (6'7''-F-91) of St.Francis, IN G: Brady Lollman (6'2''-G) of Hastings G: Cameron Mitchell (6'4''-G) of IU Southeast F: CJ Penny (6'5''-F) of Asbury F: Taylor Pruett (6'7''-F) of Idaho Coll. F: Jalen Voss (6'7''-F-92) of Dakota Wesleyan G: Blake Walker (6'1''-G-91) of William Penn G/F: Anthony Woods (6'4''-G/F) of Ashford Honorable Mention Corey Clement (6'5''-F) of William Jessup Grant Blaser (6'2''-G) of Cal Maritime Keith Bowman (6'7''-F) of Menlo Ben Imig (5'11''-PG-91) of Midland Zack Leeper (6'4''-G) of Northwestern, IA Trevor Johnson (6'5''-F-91) of Lynchburg T. Austin Katje (6'4''-G) of Dordt Galen Gullie (5'7''-PG-92) of Midland Quinton Wood (6'0''-PG-90) of Reinhardt Deante Johnson (6'8''-F) of Union, KY Brandon Cole (203-F/C-84) of Issa Town Floyd Battle (6'1''-G) of St.Thomas, FL Deforest Carter (6'1''-G-93) of Embry Riddle Fred Mattison (6'7''-F) of Northwood, FL Aaron Larson (6'7''-F) of Olivet Nazarene Tony Smit (5'11''-PG) of Cardinal Stritch Jarrell Turner (6'3''-G) of Robert Morris Michael Simpson (5'7''-PG) of St.Xavier Stavros Schizas (6'5''-G/F) of Rochester, MI Matthew Brito (6'0''-G) of Northern NM Tylon Deal (6'0''-PG) of St.Ambrose Spencer Coleman (6'7''-F-92) of NW Christian Dylan Hale (6'2''-G-91) of Dakota St. Tyler Fangman (6'3''-G) of IU East Nathane Simniok (6'6''-F) of Coll.of the Ozarks Lee Ames (6'4''-G-90) of Bellevue Tyler Woods (6'0''-PG) of Okla.Wesleyan Bobby Naubert (5'10''-PG) of Madonna Javontae Ford (6'3''-F-91) of Davenport Johnny Elliott (6'0''-PG) of Lima E. Rob Hogans (6'1''-G) of Spring Arbor Ryan Benner (6'4''-G) of Bethel, IN Greg Miller (6'6''-F) of Grace Coll. Austin Fox (6'3''-F) of St.Francis, IN Zach Miller (6'1''-SG-93) of Bethel, IN Julian Rose (6'1''-G) of Ottawa Cameron Clark (6'3''-F) of Southwestern, KS Grant Greenberg (6'2''-G) of St.Mary's, KS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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