Stillman headed to NCAA Division II South Regional

TUSCALOOSA, AL | The Stillman College baseball team earned an automatic bid into the 2011 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament by winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship two weeks ago.

On Sunday, the Tigers were officially invited to the NCAA championship party. The tournament is comprised of 48 teams at eight regional sites. The South Regional consists of eight teams and the West Regional consists of four teams. The six-team regionals are the Atlantic, East, Central, Midwest, Southeast and South Central.

Stillman (26-17) will play in the NCAA Division II South Regional, which begins Thursday at Jim Spooner Field on the University of West Florida campus in Pensacola. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division II World Series in Cary, N.C., on May 29.

“We are very excited,” Stillman head coach Donny Crawford said. “I am just ready...

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

VISIT: STILLMAN COLLEGE
VISIT: STILLMANATHLETICS 

Stillman's Dream Run Ended by Alabama-Huntsville

For a while, it looked as if Stillman's dream run in the NCAA Division II tournament might continue as the Tigers held a 43-42 halfttime edge against regional host Alabama-Huntsville Tuesday night. Alas, the Chargers proved too much, overcoming Stillman and eventually holding on for an 88-81 victory in a Sweet 16 matchup at Spragins Hall.

Alabama-Huntsville (29-4) will now take on Minnesota State-Mankato in the Elite 8. Stillman (25-8), which began its run in the tournament by upending heavily-favored second-seeded Harding and then defeated Florida Southern, began this game on a similar high note. The Tigers took...

Stillman Tigers Enter Sweet 16

Huntsville, AL-- Stillman reached yet another milestone with a win over the Florida Southern Moccasins 92-86 and advanced to the NCAA DII South Region final for the first time in school’s history in Spragins Hall at the University of Alabama campus.

The Tigers trailed 38-51 at the half. Following the half, the Tigers overcame a 13-point deficit to tie the game 56-56 at the 14:43 mark. Both teams exchanged baskets and enjoyed the lead until the 5:31 mark when junior LaDarius Rhone made a 3-points basket and the Tigers went ahead for the last time and held it to the end of regulation.

LaJay Sears led the Tigers with 31 points on 10-20 shooting from the field and 7-8 from the free-throw line. Sears was followed by Kevin Johnson and Lee Riley both with 16 points. LaDarius Rhone chipped in 14 points. Rakee Anderson, despite not having a great shooting performance, added a game-high 11 assists.

NCAA South Regional: 'Special journey' for UAHuntsville continues next week at the Elite Eight

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Josh Magette, who typically holds the basketball game in his hands, was at the moment holding a thin strand of twine in his right hand. It was a piece of a basketball net, surgically removed Tuesday night in the middle of the warmest, loudest, lovingest, darndest bit of celebration and history this building has seen.

"You can't dream of something like this," said Magette, the UAH point guard. A couple of weeks ago, he had collected another piece of twine, from UAH's official coronation as Gulf South Conference East Division champion.

READ MORE, CLICK EACH TITLE.

Stillman's Big Second Half Ends Florida Southern Mocs' Season

Huntsville, AL - A big second half by Stillman wiped out a 13-point lead by the Moccasins and the Tigers ended the Moccasins' season, 92-86, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Regional at Huntsville, Ala., Sunday night. The Moccasins finished the season at 23-9.

The Moccasins had shot 61.6 percent from the field en route to their 51-38 advantage at halftime, but it took Stillman just over five minutes in the second half to erase the deficit. The Tigers pulled even at 56-56 with 14:43 remaining, as they hit seven of their first nine shots in the period.

Stillman didn't take the lead for good until the 5:31 mark, when LaDarius Rhone sank a three-pointer to put the Tigers in front 74-72 and the Moccasins never saw the lead again. The Tigers were as hot from the field in the second half as the Moccasins were in the first half, shooting 60.7 percent, while the FSC shot just 34.4 percent in the second half.

Mocs Let Lead Slip Away in Semifinal Loss

A big halftime lead can turn out to be a bad thing and it was for the Mocs on Sunday. The Florida Southern College men's basketball team led by 13 at the break and couldn't keep its intensity level high enough afterward to avoid a 92-86 loss to Stillman in the NCAA Division II South Regional semifinals in Huntsville, Ala.

"They came out, got on a roll and we couldn't stop them," said head coach Linc Darner, whose Mocs ended their season with a 23-9 record.

Stillman (23-7) stormed back with an 18-5 run after the break to tie it at 56 and took the lead for good with 5:31 to play.

Box Score

READ MORE, CLICK EACH TITLE.

Stillman Tigers advance after Rhone’s late basket in overtime

Stillman College Athletics Director Curtis Campbell

HUNTSVILLE, AL | Following his coach’s instructions, Ladarius Rhone crashed the boards to help the Stillman Tigers advance in the NCAA Division II South Regional. Rhone grabbed an offensive rebound and made a putback shot, and the No. 7-seeded Tigers edged No. 2 Harding University 87-86 in overtime on Saturday.

Stillman plays Florida Southern in the semifinals today at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. The championship game will be at 7:30 on Tuesday. Florida Southern defeated Rollins 76-74 on a 3-pointer by Dominic Lane with 2 seconds left.

Harding (25-5) took an 86-85 lead when Kevin Brown converted a 3-point play with 12.4 seconds remaining. Rhone, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward, scored after senior point guard Rakee Anderson missed on a drive to the basket.

Harding Bison Fall in Overtime at NCAA Tournament

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Stillman forward Ladarius Rhone recovered a loose ball in the paint and laid it in with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Tigers an 87-86 victory over Harding in the quarterfinals of the NCAA II South Region Tournament on Saturday at Spragins Hall.

Harding (25-5) had taken the lead with 14 seconds left when senior forward Kevin Brown converted a 3-point play to give Harding an 86-85 lead. It was the 18th lead change in the game.

Stillman guard Rakee Anderson took the ball to the basket on the last possession but had his shot blocked by Stephen Blake. Rhone grabbed the rebound and scored only his third shot in seven attempts to win it.

“We made them take an incredibly tough shot,” said Harding head coach Jeff Morgan. “We just did not do a good job of grabbing the backside rebound. That hurt us a couple of times in the game.”

READ MORE, CLICK EACH TITLE.

NCAA Division II South Regional set to begin in Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Are you ready for some basketball?

Eight of the best NCAA Division II college basketball teams are in town for the South Regional, which begins Saturday at Spragins Hall on the University of Alabama-Huntsville campus. The winner will have a chance to play for the national championship in Springfield, Mass., March 23-26.

"Being in the tournament is one thing and being able to host it is like a dream," UAH guard Tyler Hanback said. "It's going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait."

Saturday: Harding (25-4) vs. Stillman (21-7) at 2:30 p.m.
UAH (26-4) vs. Clark Atlanta (22-8), SIAC Champions at 5:30 p.m.
Arkansas Tech (24-5) and Benedict (21-7) at 7:30 p.m.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.


Videographer: UrbanSportsITG; Inside The Game: Clark-Atlanta vs. Stillman (SIAC Championship)