STARS SHINE BRIGHTER--BARELY
3/21/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- Nobody inside Municipal Auditorium Friday night saw this one coming, but California Baptist and Oklahoma City saved the best for last.
In the final game of the second round, which didn't tip-off until after 10 p.m. local time, No. 10-seed CBU pushed the defending champions to the brink, but in the end the No. 7-seed Stars came up with two clutch plays in a 38 second span in the final two minutes to avoid an upset and escape the Lancers with a 69-63 win in the Sweet 16 of the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship.
The loss ends the Lancers' season at 24-9.
“I was really pleased with the way played tonight,” said CBU head coach Tim Collins. “We showed a ton of heart and had the will to defend, especially in the first half. If we could have had a couple of breaks down the stretch and maybe get one big stop, it goes the other way. They (OCU) played great defense down the stretch.”
The Stars advance to tomorrow's quarterfinals, their third straight trip, and improve to 28-7.
Willie Irick led all players with 21 points, and his three-pointer with 1:47 left in the game gave Oklahoma City a 62-61 lead it never lost.
Mark Roussin, who had just two first half points, finished with a team-high 16 points in 22 minutes.
The game featured seven lead changes and another 17 ties. The final tie came when Ollie Bailey got his own offensive rebound after Roussin blocked his shot and scored a lay-up to tie the game at 59-59 with 2:33 to play. Just 21 seconds later, Cesar Menjivar scored his only points of the night with a lay-up that made it 61-59, setting up Irick's heroics.
After Irick drilled his fourth trey of the night that started an 8-0 OCU run, Roussin tried to answer on the ensuing possession, but his three came up just short. Richard Jackson then made a lay-up with 1:09 remaining to give the Stars a 64-41 lead, their largest since the 15:41 mark of the second half. Still a one possession game at that point, the Lancers came up empty again on their next possession and were forced to foul. Reigning NAIA Tournament MVP Kameron Gray made 1-of-2 free throws to push the margin to four, and the Lancers got closer.
“I think we earned a ton of respect as a program with our performances out here,” said Collins. “There were many people who didn't give us a chance tonight, and we showed we can compete with the best teams on the biggest stage. We grew up tonight and learned a big lesson about playing in big games that will only help us as we look ahead to next year.”
The biggest lead by either team was the final score.
“They (OCU) have been here before and have guys who have made plays on this stage,” said Collins. “Their size got to us in the end. It was so close and they turned a one-possession, three-point game into a six point win with free throws. We were that close.”
Right from the start, the Lancers went toe-to-toe with the five-time NAIA Champions. However, the best two players from the best two conferences were both saddled with foul trouble as Bailey, the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and Roussin, the GSAC Player of the Year, played a combined seven minutes in the first half, scoring just two points apiece.
An Irick jumper gave the Stars an early 8-6 lead, and that's when the Lancers went to unlikely source. With Roussin on the bench, Collins inserted redshirt freshman Michael Brewer into the lineup to bang with the Stars' hefty frontline. Brewer, who has played in just 18 games, averaging just five minutes a contest, looked anything but a seldom-used freshman reserve.
Brewer made a pair of free throws to start a 7-0 CBU flurry that was capped by fellow freshman Davey Hopkins' bucket to give the Lancers a 13-8 lead, their largest of the game and the largest of the game for either team until the final seconds. Brewer finished the first half with nine points and four rebounds, and more importantly, was 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Not bad, considering he was just 1-for-7 from the line coming into the game.
“Michael played so well tonight as a freshman at both ends of the floor,” said Collins. “He defended well and when Roussin and (Matt) Gonzales both got into foul trouble, we needed someone to step up and he did. He really grew up tonight as player.”
As a team, the Lancers were 11-for-14 from the free throw line in the first half. Their final seven points of the first half came from the charity stripe, but Irick sent the Stars into the locker room with a 33-31 lead after hitting second trey of the half as time expired.
Brewer finished with a career-high 11 points in a career-high 15 minutes. He also grabbed four rebounds. Carl Ross finished his collegiate career with 11 points as well.
Bailey finished with 15 points for the Stars. Na'Vonta Kentle added 13 points and eight rebounds. Jackson had 12 points off the bench. Gray finished with eight points, seven assists and five rebounds.
