NCAA D2 National Championships Bracket 2008
 Winona State wins their second NCAA D2 Championship in three yearsWinona State completed its run to a second national championship in three years in stylish fashion by rallying from a 16-point, 53-37, first half deficit en route to an 87-76 victory against Augusta State this afternoon at the MassMutual Center. The Warrior's 17-point shortfall marks the second largest comeback in an NCAA Division II Championship Game. Winona State got to today by beating a pair of undefeated teams earlier in the tournament with a 67-54 quarterfinal victory against Grand Valley State on Wednesday and an 86-75 semifinal win versus Bentley on Thursday. The Warriors (38-1) forced the Jaguars into nine turnovers, which yielded 18 points throughout the second half, and limited them to 14 points throughout the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza; after giving up 44 first half points. On the other end, they shot 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from the arc and 50.0 percent (20-for-40) overall during that span. 'I guess in the first half, we caught ourselves getting behind. It was one thing to be behind two or four points, but when it started to get to double digits, our defense wasn't doing what it was supposed to do. We then wanted to diminish the deficit in the last few minutes, which were able to do,' said Winona State head coach Mike Leaf. 'In the locker room, we said that we're only down 12 and that it wasn't that much. We just had to make sure that we did it one possession at a time.' Senior guard and Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jonte Flowers (6'5''-G) of Winona State University scored 25 of his 30 points after halftime to lead the Warriors. In the process, he became only the ninth player to score 30 or more points in the NCAA Division II Title Game. Senior forward John Smith (6'8''-F) of Winona State University contributed 18 points and five rebounds, senior guard Quincy Henderson finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists; and junior guard Travis Whipple added 13 points for Winona State. Senior forward Tyrekus Bowman (6'5''-F-86) of Augusta State University led Augusta State (27-7) with 26 points on 12-for-15 shooting from the floor, while sophomore forward Ben Madgen and junior center Garret Siler (6'11''-C-86) of Augusta State University tossed in 20 points each to lead Augusta State (26-7). Madgen also pulled down seven boards and handed out five assists. Henderson foreshadowed the Winona State comeback by knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing with four seconds remaining that cut the Warriors deficit to 12 points, 44-32, at intermission. Augusta State boosted its advantage back to 16, 53-37, throughout the opening four minutes of the second half, but then Winona State took off on a 9-2 spurt that brought them to within single digits, 55-46, with 14:43 remaining after Smith, who had 15 treys all season, knocked down one of his four 3-pointers on the afternoon. Five minutes later, Flower drained a jumper from the left elbow that tied it up, 58-58. The lead swayed both ways during the five minutes, before freshman guard Ben Fischer finished a pair of layups to put the Warriors ahead for good, 69-65, with 5:13 remaining. After junior guard Steve Smith drained a trey to make it a one point, 69-68, ballgame; Flowers knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers that afforded the Warriors a seven point, 75-68, advantage with 3:58 left. A 3-pointer by Henderson boosted the lead to 10, 80-70, and in the process pretty much removed all doubt about the eventual outcome. They then sealed the victory by converting five of their eight free throws from that point on. 'I told our guys in the locker room that if this is the worst thing they go through in their life, then they'll have a good life. We accomplished a lot of things this year and just came up short to a great and expericened Winona State team. I think their experience helped a lot,' said Augusta State head coach Dip Metress. The first half was quite a different story as Augusta State shot 67.9 percent (19-for-28) from the floor, and outscored Winona State 28-4 in the paint. The Jaguars limited the Warriors to four points throughout a five minute span in the latter stages that allowed them to transform a two point, 24-22, cushion into a l0 point, 36-26, lead with 3:34 to go until the break. Elite Eight All-Tournament Team Jonte Flowers of Winona State (Most Outstanding Player) Tyrekus Bowman of Augusta State John Smith of Winona State Garret Siler of Augusta State Lew Finnegan (6'4''-G-85) of Bentley College The East wins Division II All-Star Game East - West 103:97 The Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame enjoyed one of the most interesting events in the NCAA Division II schedule - the annual All-Star Game. Twenty top athletes all over the league gathered to participate. The game was a real treat for all basketball fans with a lot of dunking and fast-breaking. Steve Dagostino (5'11''-G) alley-ooped it to Charlie Parker (6'4''-G/F) and the East went up by 10 points with 5 minutes to play. However the West had the answer that was worth it. Robert Lee (6'3''-G-85, college: Houston) notched 8 points in the dying minutes and trimmed the deficit to just 2 points with less than a minute on the clock. Virginia Union's Brad Byerson (6'7''-F) was put to the charity stripe with 14 seconds left but missed both free throws to give a chance to the West. Western squad missed their shot and Jeremy Black (6'8''-F-85) grabbed an offensive board to seal the winning outcome from free throw line at the end. Charlie Parker provided team-high 18 points for the East. He was pronounced the Game's MVP for the East. Jeff Fahnbulleh (6'7''-C) responded with game-high 21 points for the West. He received the MVP honours for the West. The All-Star Game squads are announced The third annual NCAA Division II All-Star Game will take place on Friday, March 28 at the Naismith Memorial Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts. 20 athletes all around the league were chosen to play for the East and the West All-Star squads. The players for the East tam were picked from the NCAA East, Northeast, South and South Atlantic region teams. The West comprised players from Great Lakes, North Central, South Central and West region teams. The West squad included Cory Abercrombie (6'7''-F/C) of Pittsburgh State, David Dreas (6'0''-G-86) of St. Cloud State, Jeff Fahnbulleh (6'7''-C) from Kentucky Wesleyan, Robert Lee (6'3''-G-85, college: Houston) of West Texas A&M, Vince Mosley (6'6''-F) of Gannon, Avery Patterson (6'4''-G-86, college: Iowa Western CC) of Tarleton State, Devin Peal (6'4''-F-85) from Humboldt State, Paul Peterson (5'9''-G) from Brigham Young-Hawaii, Marlon Pierce (6'3''-G) from Cal State-San Bernardino and Minnesota State-Mankato's Atila Santos (6'10''-C-83, college: N.Iowa). The Western team will be guided by San Francisco's coach Bill Treseler . Sean Barnette (6'4''-F) of Wingate, Jeremy Black (6'8''-F-85) of Tampa, Brad Byerson (6'7''-F) of Virginia Union, Steve Dagostino (5'11''-G) from St. Rose, Corey Diethorn (6'6''-F-85) of Assumption, Chris Gilliam (6'7''-F, college: Pitt-Johnstown) of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Charlie Parker (6'4''-G/F) from Millersville, Jonny Reibel (6'2''-G-86) of Rollins, Michael Sturns (6'5''-G-86) from Holy Family and Pace's Ryan Williams (6'3''-G-85) were selected to represent East. Vincent Alexander from South Carolina-Aiken was chosen to steer the East All-Star team. Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Region Teams All-East Region 1st Team Chris Banal (6'5''-F) of West Liberty State Chris Gilliam (6'7''-F) of Pitt Johnstown Ryan McLemore (6'9''-F-85) of Edinboro Charlie Parker (6'4''-G/F) of Millersville Brandon Streeter (6'6''-F) of Mount Olive 2nd Team Kendrick Easley (6'1''-G) of Mount Olive Darnell Evans (6'3''-G) of Queens Stan Hall (6'3''-G) of Alderson-Broaddus James Helton (6'6''-F) of West Virginia State Thad McFadden (6'2''-G-87) of Fairmont State All-Northeast Region 1st Team Steve Dagostino (5'11''-G) of Saint Rose Nate Fritsch (6'6''-F-83) of Bentley Jonathan Schmidt (6'0''-G) of C.W. Post Michael Sturns (6'5''-G-86) of Holy Family Ryan Williams (6'3''-G-85) of Pace 2nd Team Darren Duncan (5'10''-G) of Merrimack Laurence Ekperigin (6'7''-F) of Le Moyne Vincent Falzone (6'5''-F) of Molloy Malcolm Ingram (6'4''-F) of Philadelphia Brian Monahan (6'6''-F-86) of Saint Michael's Jason Westrol (6'3''-G-88) of Bentley All-South Atlantic Region 1st Team Sean Barnette (6'4''-F) of Wingate Anthony Hilliard (6'4''-G/F-86) of Elizabeth City State Chris Commons (6'8''-F) of USC Aiken Tyrekus Bowman (6'5''-F-86) of Augusta State Brad Byerson (6'7''-F) of Virginia Union 2nd Team Reggie Bratton (6'4''-G/F) of Lenoir-Rhyne Jeremy Fears (6'5''-G-85) of USC Aiken Bryan Grier (6'5''-F) of Wingate Garret Siler (6'11''-C-86) of Augusta State Phillippe Harris (5'11''-G) of Fayetteville State All-South Central Region 1st Team Cory Abercrombie (6'7''-F/C) of Pittsburg State Scooby Johnson (6'7''-F-83) of Texas A&M / Commerce Sam Belt (6'5''-G/F-84) of Central Oklahoma Avery Patterson (6'4''-G-86) of Tarleton State Leslie Malone (6'7''-F) of Cameron (Okla) 2nd Team Robert Lee (6'3''-G-85) of West Texas A&M Deandre Townsend (5'8''-G) of Emporia State (Kan) Eric Williams (6'6''-F-86) of Tarleton State Pierce Caldwell (6'3''-G) of Incarnate Word Nate Perry (6'5''-F-85) of Southwestern Oklahoma |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Men
Women
Subscribe
Login
