Martin Methodist Rallies in Second Half to Defeat Tougaloo Bulldogs, 88-77

Kansas City, Mo. (March 18, 2011) - No. 5 seed Martin Methodist (Tenn.) staged an early second-half comeback to knock off No. 12 seed Tougaloo (Miss.), 88-77 at the 2011 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The RedHawks scored 52 points after the break to stump the 7-man Tougaloo squad Friday at Municipal Auditorium.

Martin Methodist improves its record to 33-2 overall and got its first-ever second round win in national championship play. The Bulldogs fell short of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time and will end their season with a 28-5 mark.

Tougaloo went on a scoring spree in the first half as Donteeno Todd, Mario Luckett and Marquise Mems all reached the double-digit plateau. Todd led the Bulldog scoring efforts with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from downtown. Tougaloo also won a battle on the defensive front as it forced 13 RedHawk first-half turnovers. Martin Methodist's Ree McCrory, who played all 20 minutes of the first half, scored 16 points and was 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

To begin the second half, Martin Methodist went on a 17-2 run and brought the game back within reach. The RedHawks grabbed a 53-52 lead with 15:20 remaining, which was their first lead since the beginning moments of the game at 3-2. The two seeded squads remained in a stalemate, trading baskets with each other for the next 10 minutes, but Martin Methodist went on a 14-3 run to finish off the Bulldogs.

It was just the eighth time that the RedHawks have trailed at halftime and they are now victorious in six of the eight contests. Junior guards McCrory and James Justice both reached the 500-point mark for the season with 28 and 24 points, respectively. Compared to shooting 39.3 percent in the first stanza, Martin Methodist came out and shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half. Forward Chris Leggett logged a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. LaQuantis Stewart also grabbed 10 rebounds for the game and helped the RedHawks outrebound Tougaloo 49-37.

Bulldogs senior forward Mario Luckett ended his career with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The outing gave Luckett his ninth double-double of the season. After shooting 6-of-19 for 3-pointers before the break, the Bulldogs went cold, shooting 2-for-11 in the final 20 minutes.



Game Notes:
Tougaloo (Miss.) -- Tougaloo falls to 0-2 in second round games...Martin Methodist's 88 points is the six time the Bulldogs have allowed more than 80 points, as Tougaloo entered the contest ranked 13th in scoring defense per game (65.2)...junior guard Donteeno Todd's 15 points off the bench extend his double figure scoring streak to three games...senior forward Mario Luckett registered his ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds

Martin Methodist (Tenn.) - Martin Methodist advances to the quarterfinals for the first time in six appearances...the Redhawks become the fourth top-five seed to earn a spot in the round of eight...junior guards Ree McCrory and James Justice eclipse the 500 point plateau with 24 and 23 points...Justice has scored at least 11 points in eight straight games...the Redhawks 88 points is the 24th time Martin Methodist has scored more than 80 points this season...Redhawks extend win streak with six games.

Courtesy of NAIA

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NAIA Division I National Championship: Xavier Gold Nuggets beat Lee again, advance to second round

Gold Nuggets Coach Bo Browder
(Grambling State 1994) 
13 season record: 300 wins, 109 losses
(Photo provided by Xavier University)

JACKSON, Tenn. (March 16, 2011) — Senior forward Christina Warren scored 19 points Wednesday, and Xavier University of Louisiana's defense excelled again in a 63-53 victory over Lee (Tenn.) in the opening round of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship at Oman Arena.

The Gold Nuggets (27-6), ranked 20th in the final coaches' poll, defeated the 13th-ranked Lady Flames (25-7) by double digits for the second time this season and limited them to 29.4-percent field-goal shooting. Xavier entered the tournament No. 1 in scoring defense in NAIA Division I and fourth in field-goal percentage defense.

Xavier will play fourth-ranked Oklahoma City, an 87-45 winner against Montana Tech, in the second round at 10:45 a.m. Friday.

Box score

Warren, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year, scored 15 points
to carry Xavier to a 33-22 halftime lead. Brandi Young's basket with 14:13 remaining gave Xavier its biggest lead, 39-22, and the Nuggets pulled away with a 10-4 run after Lee closed to 53-49 at 4:38.

"I wasn't concerned about finishing this game," XU Coach Bo Browder said, "because we had a good learning experience at nationals last year."

Last year Xavier led Cumberlands 43-36 in the 34th minute before losing 67-62 in overtime in the opening round at nationals. This time the Nuggets led for the final 34:26 and took the lead for good on a Marchelle Jones basket.



Jones had 14 points, including 8-of-8 free throws, five rebounds and two steals, and Young had 13 points, four rebounds and a career-high-tying six steals.

The Nuggets ended a five-game first-round losing streak at nationals — the last victory had been 64-55 against Trevecca Nazarene in 2003 — and gave Browder his 300th victory a head-coach at four-year colleges. Browder is 298-101 in 12 seasons at Xavier, and he was 2-8 as Evansville's interim head coach to close the 1995-96 season.

"It's good to end the drought," Browder said. "That's been the million-dollar question — when are the Nuggets going to win at nationals again? It's always great to make it to nationals, but it's extremely difficult to win once you get there. Winning games at nationals is like getting some dessert."

Senior guard Brooke McKinnon, the Southern States Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year, was 4-of-13 from the floor and scored 12 points for Lee, an NAIA semifinalist a year ago and in its seventh consecutive appearance at nationals. McKinnon was the Lady Flames' only double-figure scorer.

Xavier shot 44.2 percent the floor — the Nuggets' third-best percentage in 20 games at nationals and their highest since 1997 — and produced defensive stands in which Lee missed 12 and 10 consecutive field-goal attempts. Xavier has limited 15 opponents this season, including the last three, to less than 30 percent from the floor.

"Lee has a great program," Browder said. "They weren't going to give anything to us. We had to go out and earn it."

Xavier's next opponent, Oklahoma City, was No. 2 in the coaches poll for most of the season and was the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season champion. No Gold Nuggets team has reached the quarterfinals, and Oklahoma teams eliminated XU three of the previous four times in the second round — including a 91-53 Oklahoma City victory in 2003.

NOTES: Lee entered the game No. 3 in NAIA Division I in scoring defense . . . Xavier reached 27 victories for the third time in four seasons . . . It's the fourth time in Louisiana collegiate history that the same school produced men's and women's basketball teams with 27 victories apiece in the same season. LSU did it in 2005-06, and Louisiana Tech did it in 1983-84 and 1984-85 . . . The Xavier-Oklahoma City winner will play in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Saturday against California Baptist or Shawnee State . . . Xavier has won 20 straight games — 13 this season — when shooting at least 40 percent from the floor and outerebounding the opponent in the same game.

NEXT GAME: Xaiver University of Lousiana Gold Nuggets (27-6) vs. #4 Oklahahoma City (26-3), Friday, 10:45 a.m. CDT . Sign Up and Watch -- CLICK HERE

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Xavier University of Louisiana
Visit:  XULA Athletics

NAIA Division I National Championship: No. 12 Tougaloo 'Magnificent Seven' Cruises Into Second Round with 73-58 Win Over Emmanuel (Ga.)

Coach Lafayette Stribling is still
 building winners in his 54th
 year of coaching basketball.

Kansas City, Mo. (March 17, 2011) - No. 12 seed Tougaloo College (Miss.) earned its way into the second round of the 2011 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship with a 73-58 victory Thursday against Emmanuel College (Ga.) at Municipal Auditorium.

Junior guard Marquise Mems registered a game-high 23 points and added seven rebounds to help lead the Bulldogs to their 13th consecutive victory. Tougaloo pushes its season record to 28-4 and moves to Friday's second round for an 8 p.m. CT game against either No. 5 seed Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) or William Jewell College (Mo.). This will mark the second trip to the round of 16 for the Bulldogs, with the other coming in 2009.

Emmanuel scored the first eight points of the contest and eventually built a nine-point advantage before Tougaloo began to battle back. Trailing 18-9, the Bulldogs reeled off 15 consecutive points to grab the lead for good, 24-18, with 5:38 left in the first half. After the Lions pulled to within three points, Mems hit a three-pointer and another basket to spark an 8-0 run to end the first half and give the Bulldogs a 32-21 lead.

Tougaloo extended its advantage to as many as 21 points in the second half on its way to the first-round victory. Junior guard Donteeno Todd came off the bench to record 14 points for the Bulldogs, including four three-point field goals. Senior forward Mario Luckett added 13 points, while junior forward James Carter just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Juan Gray pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for Tougaloo, which held a 46-32 advantage on the boards.

Senior guard Tedrick Hudson led Emmanuel with 15 pionts, while junior forward Asmatiek Fields helped out with 11 points. Freshman guard Michael Stanley led the Lions with seven rebounds. Emmanuel, which was making its second appearance at the NAIA Naitonal Championship, closed out its season with an overall record of 26-8.

BOX SCORING

Tougaloo College coach Lafayette Stribling and assistant Harvey Wardell took only seven players to the nationals in Missouri -- Mario Luckett, Marquise Mems, Donteeno Todd, Jurmond Cattenhead, Juan Gray, Kadon Day and James Carter.  The 'Magnificent Seven' Bulldogs move on to the Sweet 16, after bouncing Emmanuel College (Ga.) 73-58.  

Who is this 76 Year Old Dynamo?
The legendary Coach Stribling coached at Mississippi Valley State University, in Itta Bena, Mississippi for 22 years. The team won its first SWAC Championship in his third year as head coach. He retired with 7 SWAC championships, a Black College Championship, and 3 NCAA Division I Tournament berths. Stribling is also a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hall of Fame.

Game Notes:
Tougaloo: Bulldogs overcame not scoring for the first four minutes and 27 seconds to lead by 11 at the half ... Outscored Emmanuel 14-3 over the final nine minutes of the first half ... Limited Emmanuel to 32.2 percent from the floor after being ranked No. 15 in scoring defense at 65.5 PPG during the regular season ... The 58 points surrendered by the Bulldogs is the lowest point total given up through 13 games of the opening round.

Emmanuel: Second opening-round loss by Emmanuel in their second tournament appearance ... Leading scorer Tedrick Hudson finished two points shy of his season average of 17.2 PPG with a team-high 15 points ... Averaging 72.0 PPG during the regular season, the 58-point final total for the Lions was their fourth-lowest output of the season.

NEXT GAME: FRIDAY, 8 p.m., CDT, TOUGALOO BULLDOGS (28-4) VS. MARTIN METHODIST REDHAWKS (32-2)

Amanda Dahl, NAIA Manager of Sports Information & Media Services

Evangel shoots past Xavier Gold Rush at NAIA national tourney

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 17, 2011) -- Senior guard Spud Harbour scored 27 points Thursday to lead Evangel University to a 79-71 victory over Xavier University of Louisiana in the opening round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship.

The Crusaders (26-8), from Springfield, Mo., shot 52.8 percent from the floor and earned their 11th consecutive victory. They'll play second-ranked Concordia (Calif.) in the second round at 2:15 p.m. Friday. Xavier, ranked 17th and in the national tournament for the first time since 2008, finished 27-6 with its winningest season since 1983-84.

Senior guard Michael Harvey, in his final Xavier game, led the Gold Rush with 18 points, including a career-high-tying four 3-pointers. Chris Iles had 16 points and four assists, Cordell Hadnot had eight points and eight rebounds, and Denzell Erves had eight points and seven rebounds. In the first half Harvey scored 11 points, and Iles had 10 after going 4-of-4 from the floor.

The 2010-11 Xavier University of Louisiana 27-6 men's basketball team.
Head Coach Dannton Jackson,  Eighth season at Xavier, 179 wins 81 losses 
17 of 18 seniors to play for Coach Jackson have earned degrees from Xavier; 1 still enrolled
(Photo courtesy of Xavier University)

Evangel, ranked 15th in the final coaches poll, spent more than 38½ minutes with the lead. Xavier's only advantage was at 7-6, and there were ties at 3 and 44 before Evangel went ahead to stay on Chad Gillaspy's basket with 16:49 remaining. The Crusaders stretched their lead to 68-56 on Mitch McHenry's basket with 7:17 remaining, then made 8-of-8 free throws in the final 3:15 after Xavier closed the gap to 71-69 on Hadnot's free throw at 3:29.

Harbour scored 15 points to help Evangel lead 39-34 at halftime. Harbour finished with three 3-pointers, three assists and 10-of-11 free throws.

McHenry made 7-of-10 from the floor and scored a season-high 17 points, all in the second half, for Evangel, and Gillaspy had 15 points, 7-of-11 field goals, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Evangel was the first team this season to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor against Xavier, which entered the game in the top five nationally in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense. The Gold Rush shot 45.9 percent but made 1-of-8 from 3-point range after hitting 5-of-9 in the first half.

Harvey finished his career with 143 3-pointers. He scored Xavier's first points on a trey at 18:42, giving him sole possession of fourth place on Xavier's all-time list. He entered the game tied with Michael Varnado, who played from 2001-05.

Xavier lost in the first round at nationals for the ninth time in its last 10 appearances. The Gold Rush are 4-12 in 12 appearances, and each of the last five losses was by single digits.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
Xavier University of Louisiana
Visit: XULA Athletics