April 4, 2008

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TOURNAMENT RECAP:

The 71st Annual Championships, hosted at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo., began on March 19 with 16 first-round match-ups. No. 1 seed and undefeated Georgetown (Ky.) moved into the second round with a convincing 83-59 victory over Emmanuel (Ga.), who was making its first Championship appearance. On Day 1, there were two upsets including Wayland Baptist (Texas) taking out No.12 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) in Game No. 1. Overall, there were five unseeded teams moving into the second round. No. 6 Concordia (Calif.) was the highest seed that lost in the first round after a 72-63 loss to Campbellsville (Ky.).

In the second round (March 21), the higher seed went 5-3. Unseeded Campbellsville was one of the teams to knock off a higher seed and advance to its first ever Quarterfinal round. Oklahoma Baptist got past No. 3 Lambuth (Tenn.) and win its 47th Tournament game, which is now tied for second on the all-time victory list. The top two seeds, Georgetown and No. 2 Lee (Tenn.), barely stayed alive with GC winning by a bucket against No. 16 Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) and Lee overcame a 7-point halftime margin and dispose of Cumberlands (Ky.).

Georgetown advanced to its 11th overall Semifinal after a 88-84 Quarterfinal win over No. 8 Robert Morris (Ill.). No. 5 seed and 2004 champion Mountain State (W.Va.) dominated No. 13 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 40-19 in the second half and rattled off a 72-51 win. Oklahoma City and Campbellsville both notched wins in the Quarterfinal round.

Televised nationally on CBS College Sports Network, Semifinal play on Monday (March 24) opened with Georgetown and Mountain State hooking up in a rematch of the 2004 Semifinal. MSU improved to 3-0 against Georgetown in Semifinal play, holding the Tigers to a season-worst 65 points in the 78-65 win. In the nightcap, defending national champion Oklahoma City halted Campbellsville's Cinderella run with a 78-64 victory. OCU limited Campbellsville to just 38.5 percent shooting.

CHAMPIONSHIP:
Oklahoma City University won its sixth national championship with a 75-72 victory Tuesday (March 25) against Mountain State University (W.Va.) in the title game of the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

The Stars added to their NAIA record with their sixth national championship and became the first team since Life University (Ga.) in 1999 and 2000 to claim back-to-back NAIA Division I titles with its win on Tuesday. Oklahoma City also became the first No. 7 seed since seeding information was first recorded in 1957 to earn the crown. The Stars won their last 15 games to close out the season with an overall record of 31-7.

Senior forward Willie Irick led Oklahoma City with 22 points, while senior guard Kameron Gray, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year, added 20 points and four assists in the winning effort. Forward Ollie Bailey registered a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Stars.

"That's our goal every year," said Oklahoma City head coach Ray Harper. "If we're going to play the games, our goal is going to be to win the national championship. I told the returning seniors we were going to win and win right now."

Oklahoma City took a 73-64 lead with 14 seconds to play after Gray made one of two free throws. Senior guard James Spencer hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left to help pull Mountain State within 73-67. Gray was fouled on the inbounds play and hit both foul shots to extend the Stars' lead back to 75-67. The Cougars quickly came down court and cut the deficit to 75-70 on a three-pointer by senior guard Adron Marshall with three seconds remaining.

Spencer stole the inbounds pass and scored on a layup with 1.7 seconds on the clock to help bring Mountain State within 75-72. Oklahoma City was able to inbound the ball to Irick, who wrapped up the basketball to preserve the Stars' victory.

There were four ties and four lead changes in the first half before Oklahoma City grabbed the lead for good late in the period. The Stars used an 11-2 run to take a 29-21 lead in the final minute of the half. Gray and junior guard Richard Jackson closed the spurt with consecutive three-pointers. A free throw by Marshall helped bring Mountain State within 29-22 at the intermission.

Oklahoma City built its lead to 18 points on two different occasions in the second half, the last coming at 65-47 following a three-point field goal by Irick with 5:16 on the clock. Mountain State chipped away at the deficit, outscoring the Stars 25-10 the remainder of the contest, but could not overcome the advantage held by Oklahoma City.

Senior center Jason McGriff scored 14 of his team-high 22 points in the second half for Mountain State. He also pulled down a team-leading 11 rebounds. Senior guard Jarvis Jackson chipped in with 13 of his 15 points after halftime, while Spencer finished with 14 points. Mountain State, the No. 5 seed in the 32-team field, had its eight-game win streak snapped and finished the year with an overall record of 34-3.

The Cougars were seeking their second NAIA national championship as they won the 2004 title game against Concordia University.

"We had tired legs to start and our shots weren't falling, but Oklahoma City is a good defensive team," said Mountain State head coach Bob Bolen. "I am so proud of our kids and their effort and how they played. It was five games in seven days and that takes a toll on both teams."

Oklahoma City was making its third straight NAIA title game appearance, becoming the first team since Kentucky State University from 1970-72 to achieve the feat. The Stars were defeated in the 2006 championship game by Texas Wesleyan University, 67-65.

GAME NOTES
Mountain State:
• Dropped to 1-2 all-time in NAIA Tournament championship games. Mountain State lost the 2003 title
contest to Concordia (Calif.) 88-84 in overtime before winning the 2004 crown over Concordia, 74-70.
• The Cougars were held to a season-low 22 points in the first half.
• Jason McGriff recorded his eighth double-double of the season.
• Lost its three games in 2007-08 by a combined total of five points.

Oklahoma City:
• Extended its NAIA record of national championships to six.
• Won its last 10 tournament games and 14 of its last 15 dating back to the 2006 event.
• Becomes the first team since Life University (Ga.) in 1999 and 2000 to earn back-to-back national
championships.
• Oklahoma City notched its 47th tournament win, moving past Central Washington for a tie in second
place on the all-time list. The Stars trail Georgetown College (Ky.), which has a record 49 wins, and is tied
with Oklahoma Baptist.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
• In the 31 games, not a single team reached the 100-point barrier. That marked the first time since 1982
in which a team didn't score in the triple digits.
• There were three overtime games -- all in the first round. A recent trend has emerged as three of the last
four Tournaments have had three overtime matches.
• Oklahoma City won its record sixth NAIA Championship and second straight. It was the first time since
Life (Ga.) won back-to-back rings in 1999 and 2000.
• Oklahoma City became the first No. 7 seed to claim the title since seeding information was first
published in 1957.
• Recognized as an unseeded team, Campbellsville became the fourth team in the last four seasons to
make it to the Semifinals as an unseeded program.
• Mountain State's 87-76 double-overtime win against Olivet Nazarene (March 19) was the first multiple
overtime game in first-round action since 2005 and just the 16th multiple-overtime contest in tourney
history.
• Oklahoma Baptist notched its 48th tournament win in the second round to move into second place on
the all-time victory list, just one shy of Georgetown's (Ky.) mark.
• Oklahoma City's Kameron Gray became just the sixth player in the 71-year history to win the Chuck
Taylor Most Valuable Player honors in consecutive Tournaments. The last one before Gray was Travis
Grant from 1971-72.