Two GLIAC Teams Make NCAA D-II Men's Basketball Tournament Field.

Two GLIAC Teams Make NCAA D-II Men's Basketball Tournament Field.

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Two Teams from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) received bids to the NCAA D-II Men's Basketball Midwest Region Tournament. GLIAC Champion University of Findlay earned the Region's No. 4 seed, while Grand Valley State University claimed the No. 5 seed. Midwest Region Tournament action gets underway on Saturday, Mar. 13 in Owensboro, Ky.

Findlay and GVSU will meeting in the first round of the tournament on Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m. (CST) at the Owensboro Sportscenter.  The host and No. 1 seed, Kentucky Wesleyan College, will face the No. 8 seed, St. Joseph's College (Ind.), at 6:00 p.m.

Regional tournament play will kickoff at Noon on Saturday when No. 3 Drury University (Mo.) takes on the No. 6 seed, Quincy University (Ill.).  The No. 2 seed in the region, Bellarmine University (Ky.) will square off against the seventh-seeded Central State University (Ohio) at 2:30 p.m.

The regional semifinals will take place at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 14 while the finals will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 16.

2010 NCAA Division II
Men's Basketball Championship
Midwest Region Tournament
Owensboro Sportscenter, Owensboro, Ky.
Hosted by Kentucky Wesleyan College
Saturday, March 13
#3 Drury vs. #6 Quincy, 12:00 pm
#2 Bellarmine vs. #7 Cental State, 2:30 pm
#1 Kentucky Wesleyan vs. #8 St. Joseph’s, 6:00 pm
#4 Findlay vs. #5 Grand Valley State, 8:30 pm
Sunday, March 14
Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2, 5:00 pm
Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4, 7:30 pm
Tuesday, March 16
Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6, 7:00 pm

 

 

Ashland Eagles (14-15, 10-12 GLIAC)

AU saw its season come to a close last week in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament with a 100-90 loss at Findlay. This was the Eagles’ first trip to the league’s postseason tournament since 2007-2008…Ashland had three players earn All-GLIAC honors. For the second consecutive season junior forward Kale Richardson (Carroll, OH/Bloom-Carroll) is a first team All-GLIAC selection. Senior forward Bylynn Hatcher (Alliance, OH/Grand Rapids C.C.) was named second team All-GLIAC and is a member of the GLIAC Defensive Team. Senior guard Darius Brents (Detroit, MI/Mott C.C.) was named to the GLIAC Defensive Team. For Hatcher and Brents, this is the first time they have received league honors.

 

Ferris State Bulldogs (16-13, 13-9 GLIAC)

FSU team saw its season come to a close on Friday (March 5) evening as the Bulldogs suffered a 82-69 loss to the Findlay Oilers in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals at UF’s Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio... FSU closed the season with a 16-13 overall record and the contest marked the final game for three Bulldog seniors in Josh Young, Austin Randel and Jon Yeazel... Ferris was led by junior guard Darien Gay’s 23 points while junior forward Justin Keenan added 22 points. Those were the only two Bulldog players to reach double-figure production... The Oilers held a big advantage at the free throw stripe where they connected on 28-of-36 (77.8%) free throws compared to FSU’s six-of-11 (54.5%) showing. FSU was whistled for 27 personal fouls with the Oilers called for only 13 in the game... Findlay improved to 16-4 all-time versus Ferris with the win and the Oilers claimed two of three meetings against the Bulldogs this campaign... Josh Young had six points in his final collegiate game with Jon Yeazel scoring four and Austin Randel chipping in three.

 

Findlay Oilers (24-8, 15-7 GLIAC)

The Oilers captured their fifth GLIAC Tournament title on Saturday, defeating Hillsdale 79-66 in Croy Gymnasium…They defeated Ashland in the first round 100-90 and won against Ferris State by a score of 82-69 in the second round…In the win over Ashland, the Oilers set a tournament record by making 34-of-41 free throws…In the win over Ferris State, junior guard Nathan Hyde tied his career-high with 34 points…In the win over Hillsdale to capture the title, the Oilers used a 21-3 run to begin the second half to spring them to their second straight tournament championship…The Oilers were led by Hyde’s 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting as he captured the MVP award with a stellar run during Findlay’s three game march through the tournament…Hyde set a new GLIAC Tournament record with 84 points scored, he made all 23 of his free throw attempts to set a new mark and drained 6-of-10 shots from behind the three point line in the championship game to give him a new tournament record of 15 triples for the series…Senior guard Marcus Parker added 18 points and six assists, junior forward Tyler Sparks had 16 points and five rebounds and junior center Jason Wehri contributed eight points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks as all three players were named to the all-tournament team…In addition, the Oilers made 77 free throws in the two games to set a new tournament record.

 

Grand Valley State Lakers (19-11, 15-7 GLIAC)

GVSU advanced to the GLIAC Semifinals after a 47-44 home quarterfinal victory over Wayne State on Tuesday (Mar. 2). The Lakers trailed 41-34 with less than nine minutes remaining, but outscored the Warriors 13-3 over the final 8:46 to earn the victory. It was the fewest points Grand Valley State has scored in a victory since the Lakers defeated #1 Michigan Tech by a 42-40 count on Feb. 20, 2003 in Houghton…GVSU fell to Hillsdale in the semifinals by a 61-53 count. Junior Toreau Brown (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) was the only Laker to score in double-figures in both games, as he averaged 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, making 7-of-10 field goal attempts and 10-of-14 free throws…junior Justin Ringler (Reed City, Mich.) was named to the All-GLIAC North Division First Team and North Division All-Defensive Team (for the second time) on Thursday night. He was a second-team all-league choice last season. Ringler leads GVSU in points (13.7), rebounds (6.9), and assists (78)…sophomore center Nick West (Royal Oak, Mich.) was also named to the North Division All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career, as the Lakers are allowing a GLIAC-low 59.5 points per game.

 

Hillsdale Chargers (16-14, 14-8 GLIAC)

The Hillsdale College men’s basketball team saw its season ended by the defending national champions in the finals of the 2010 GLIAC Men’s Basketball Tournament…The Chargers lost to the University of Findlay 79-66 Saturday night at Findlay’s Croy Gymnasium, bringing the Chargers’ final record for 2009-10 to 16-13…Earlier in the week, Hillsdale won its first GLIAC Tournament game since 1995, defeating Lake Superior State at home, 78-68…Hillsdale then defeated Grand Valley State 61-53 to advance to the championship game…The Chargers have just four wins over the Lakers in the past 16 years, but two of them have come since Feb. 7, 2009…Hillsdale getting to the tournament finals was remarkable, particularly given the team’s 1-10 start to the season…The Chargers finished the season winning 15 of their final 18 games, including eight in a row heading into the title game with Findlay…Hillsdale allowed a season-low 14 first-half points to the Lakers in Friday’s semifinal game…Sophomores Brad Guinane and Tyler Gerber were each named to the All-Tournament Team…Sophomore Brent Eaton and senior Luke Laser were named Second-Team All-GLIAC, while Gerber earned a spot on the South Division’s All-Defensive Team.

 

Lake Superior State Lakers (15-14, 11-11 GLIAC)

LSSU made its sixth appearance in the GLIAC Tournament and lost in the quarterfinal round to Hillsdale, 78-68…Three Lakers earned post-season honors. Senior guard Scott Perkins (Perrysburg, Ohio) was named to the North Division First Team, and sophomore guard Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.) made the second team. Senior guard Garrett Konuszewski (Flushing, Mich.) made the North Division All-Defensive Team…Perkins averaged 17.8 points per game to tie for fourth in the GLIAC in scoring. He was also fourth in average three-point field goals per game at 2.3 and 11th in average assists per game at 2.9. He was a four-year starter who finished his career with 1,282 points, 313 assists and 182 three-point field goals. Perkins ranks seventh in career three-point field goals at LSSU…Hunt, a second-year starter, finished third in the GLIAC in average assists per game (4.5), and was ranked in the top 11 in assist/turnover ratio, rebounding (5.9) and steals (1.5). He was the Lakers’ No. 2 scorer at 12.1 ppg and led the team in rebounding…Konuszewski, who was also a four-year starter for the Lakers, was third on the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg, and third in assists and steals. He missed two games this season due to a shoulder injury that bothered him throughout the season. Konuszewski finished his career with 346 assists, which ranks sixth on LSSU’s all-time list.

 

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (16-12, 13-9 GLIAC)

The Saginaw Valley State University men’s basketball team finished its season with a 65-59 loss to Ferris State University in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Tuesday (Mar. 2). Senior guard Avery Stephenson tied for a game high with 18 points and also with 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Greg Foster also had 18 points in the contest to help lead the squad. The Cardinals qualified for postseason play for the first time since the 1998-99 season and posted their first 16-win season since the 1997-98 campaign.

 

Wayne State Warriors (14-13, 12-10 GLIAC)

Two WSU senior guards earned All-GLIAC honors ... Bryan Wright (Warren, Ohio/Harding) was voted to the GLIAC South Division All-Conference First Team ... he finished 10th in league scoring averaging 14.6 points per game while playing in all 22 GLIAC contests ... Wright was seventh in free throw percentage (81.4/70-of-86), tied-for-seventh in three-pointers made per game (2.2), 10th in three-point field goal percentage (40.0/48-of-120) and 14th in assists (2.6 per game), while leading the league with 815 minutes played ... Larry Edwards (Benton Harbor, Mich.) was named to the GLIAC South Division All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row ... Edwards was fifth in the conference with 89 assists, and third in assist/turnover ratio (2.0/89 assists to 44 turnovers) ... defensively he was tied-for-sixth in steals with 36 ... Wright was the first WSU player to earn First Team accolades since Kris Krzyminski (2006-07) ... meanwhile, Edwards became the first Warrior since Darrell Evans (2003-04, 2004-05) to earn back-to-back all-defensive honors...meanwhile, Edwards became the first Warrior since Darrell Evans (2003-04, 2004-05) to earn back-to-back all-defensive honors ... Wayne State finished the 2009-10 campaign with a 14-13 overall record and a GLIAC mark of 12-10. Of WSU’s 13 losses, eight were by five points or less including six by three points or less.