*** NCCAA ***
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Yesterday saw the title tilt in Division One of the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association). The 4th seeded POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY SEA LIONS took the court against the 7th seeded GRACE COLLEGE LANCERS for the crown.
The two teams matched each other almost literally blow for blow and basket for basket in the 1st Half and at the break the Sea Lions held a 38-35 lead. The 2nd Half was just as intense and riveting but there could only be one champion and that turned out to be Point Loma Nazarene by a final score of 75-73. Hayden Lescault’s 14 points led the Sea Lions while in defeat the Lancers’ Greg Miller led all scorers with 22 points. * CONGRATULATIONS TO THE POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY SEA LIONS!
*** NJCAA ***
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The battle for the NJCAA Division One title resulted in a monumental upset! The 11th seeded JONES COUNTY COLLEGE BOBCATS had already shocked the nation by fighting their way to the title clash, and yesterday the only obstacle remaining between them and the championship was the top seeded INDIAN HILLS COLLEGE WARRIORS.
The Bobcats were all business from the opening tip-off and by the time the Halftime buzzer sounded they held a 46-33 advantage over the Warriors. In the 2nd Half Indian Hills College desperately battled back to preserve their title hopes but JCC would have none of it. The Bobcat defense prevented the Warriors from narrowing the gap by any appreciable amount and in the end Jones won the championship game by a final tally of 87-77. The Bobcats were led by Leo Garrett’s 15 points but Indian Hills College’s Roosevelt Scott tossed in 21 points to lead all scorers. * CONGRATULATIONS TO THE JONES COUNTY COLLEGE BOBCATS!
*** NJCAA DIV TWO ***
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – A 5 seed versus 6 seed matchup was on tap for the title game in Division Two of the NJCAA. The 5 seeds – the PHOENIX COLLEGE BEARS – were engaged in a battle royal with the 6 seeds – the ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE WOLVERINES.
And it was indeed a battle royal as these two evenly-matched teams dueled for forty minutes before one of them was finally able to slip past the other by just enough to carve out a victory. The Bears were the ones who were left standing when all was said and done. Phoenix College took the 2014 title in a 71-67 game for the ages. * CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PHOENIX COLLEGE BEARS!
*** NCAA DIV THREE ***
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN- WHITEWATER WARHAWKS are already the kings of the D3 football world in recent years and yesterday they were playing for their second national championship in basketball in the past three years! Their opponents were the WILLIAMS COLLEGE EPHS (pronounced “eephs”).
The Warhawks’ KJ Evans, also the Most Outstanding Player for the year, led the team in scoring with his 22 points in this undeniable game for the ages. UW- Whitewater held a tenuous 37-33 lead at Halftime but after the break the Ephs battled back to take the lead, with the Warhawks managing a last-minute come-from-behind 75-73 victory. * CONGRATULATIONS TO THE UW-WHITEWATER WARHAWKS!
*** NAIA ***
FINAL FOUR – FIRST BERTH FILLED – In the first clash between elite eight teams yesterday the 8th seeded EMMANUEL COLLEGE LIONS rose up and dragged down the TOP SEEDED team – the CAL STATE- SAN MARCO COUGARS. The Lions led 35-24 at Halftime but after the break the Cougars hunkered down and mounted enough of a comeback to tie the game up at 74-74 as Regulation ended. In the Overtime session Emmanuel College outscored San Marcos 20-15 for a 94-89 ticket to the semifinals! Michael Stanley notched 22 points to lead the Lions.
FINAL FOUR – SECOND BERTH FILLED – To complete the first half of the 2014 semifinal teams for the NAIA the unseeded SAINT GREGORY’S UNIVERSITY CAVALIERS logged yet ANOTHER upset. The Cavaliers continued to stymie their critics by toppling the 10th seeded FREED- HARDEMAN UNIVERSITY LIONS. The 1st Half saw four ties and five lead changes with the end result being a 36-35 Cavalier lead at the break. The 2nd Half was just a much a game of scoring and answering with everything all knotted up with just 1:54 left to play. The final frantic moments of the game ended with the Cavaliers’ Josiah Campbell hitting the game-winner as time expired. 84-82 was the final score.
FINAL FOUR – THIRD BERTH FILLED – The 6th seeds – the VANGUARD UNIVERSITY LIONS – eliminated the defending national champions of NAIA Division One basketball: the 14th seeded GEORGETOWN (KY) COLLEGE TIGERS. Last year the Tigers fought their way to the title from the 13 slot but their defense of their crown ended yesterday in a game which the Lions led 50-41 at Halftime. Georgetown College had climbed back to within 81-78 with just 1:42 remaining in the game but from there clutch free-throws from Vanguard University propelled them to the semifinals with a 93-85 win. Preston Wynne led the Lions with 28 points.
FINAL FOUR – LAST BERTH FILLED – And two unseeded teams fought it out to complete the 2014 semifinal picture. The MIDAMERICA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY PIONEERS squared off against the SAINT CATHARINE COLLEGE PATRIOTS for the right to move on to Monday night’s games. The Patriots led by a score of 7-4 early on but soon the Pioneers had turned that into a 12-7 lead for themselves. The rest of the way the best St Catharine College could manage was the occassional tie. A 44-31 Pioneer lead at the break ultimately became an 86-73 victory. Lethal Luke Thomas once again led MNU in scoring, this time with 26 points.
*** NCCAA CONSOLATION BRACKET ***
THIRD PLACE GAME – This hardcourt battle in the NCCAA pitted the top seeded SOUTHERN NAZARENE UNIVERSITY CRIMSON STORM against the 6th seeded ROBERTS WESLEYAN COLLEGE RED HAWKS. The Crimson Storm took some of their anger from their premature exit from the title chase out on the Red Hawks and had clubbed them for a 40-29 Halftime lead. The 2nd Half was more of the same as Southern Nazarene University went on to win by a very comfortable 88-67 margin. Quan Conner led the Crimson Storm with 22 points.
*** NJCAA CONSOLATION BRACKET ***
THIRD PLACE GAME – The two teams fighting it out for the Third Place honors in Division One of the NJCAA were the 2nd seeded VINCENNES UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS and the unlucky 13 seeds – the HARCUM COLLEGE BEARS. By Halftime the vengeful Trailblazers had buried the Bears in a 56-28 hole. After the break the struggling Harcum team could barely make a tiny dent in their overwhelming deficit and the final result was a 98-71 Vincennes win. Willie Wiley’s 20 points blazed the trail for the victors.
*** NJCAA DIV TWO CONSOLATION BRACKET ***
CONSOLATION GAMES – The 3rd Place game was won by the 8th seeded CENTRAL COLLEGE OF COLUMBUS (NE) RAIDERS who defeated the 7th seeded WAKE TECH EAGLES 94-87 ### Meanwhile the 2nd seeded WAYNE COUNTY COLLEGE WILDCATS contributed to the downward spiral of the top seeded CINCINATTI STATE SURGE, edging them in the 5th Place game by a tight 70-69 score ### And the 4 seeds – the SOUTH SUBURBAN COLLEGE BULLDOGS – won the 7th Place game over the unseeded ST LOUIS COLLEGE ARCHERS by a score of 70-61.
Balladeer's Blog 
The Sea Lions are my new favorites!
Good to hear!