March 24, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - No. 5 seed Mountain State University (W.Va.) posted a 78-65 victory over top-seeded Georgetown College (Ky.) in the semifinal round of the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Monday at Municipal Auditorium.
Senior guard James Spencer scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the first 10 minutes of play as Mountain State denied Georgetown its bid for an undefeated season. The Cougars move to 34-2 and will face either No. 7 seed Oklahoma City University or unseeded Campbellsville University (Ky.) in Tuesday's national championship contest. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. CDT. Georgetown was handed its first loss of the 2007-08 season and finishes the year with a record of 35-1.
Mountain State improved to 3-0 all-time against Georgetown in NAIA Tournament play, with all three wins coming in the national semifinals. The Cougars defeated the Tigers 106-89 in the 2003 semifinals and followed that with a 96-77 decision in the 2004 NAIA Fab Four.
"I'm real proud of our team," said Mountain State head coach Bob Bolen. "There's still one step (left), and it's a huge step. They got going and got James the ball. He was feeling it and he had the green light."
Spencer, who is second in NAIA Division I in scoring, was 8-of-14 from the field, including five three-point field goals, in leading the Cougars to the win. Senior guard Jarvis Jackson chipped in with 16 points and a team-high six assists, while senior guard Adron Marshall connected for 13 points for Mountain State.
Mountain State led the entire contest, scoring 10 of the first 14 points of the game before using an 11-3 run to grab a 30-16 advantage with 7:39 left in the period. Spencer started the run with consecutive three-point field goals, while Marshall capped the run with a 21-foot shot. The Cougars eventually stretched the margin to 16 points before Georgetown battled back to cut the deficit to 42-31 at halftime. In the first 20 minutes of play, Mountain State connected on 8-of-14 shots from three-point range.
Junior guard Demetrius Guoins scored the final five points of an 8-3 run for Georgetown to open the second half as the Tigers closed the gap to 45-39 with just over 15 minutes on the clock. Mountain State was able to build the lead back to double digits with nine minutes remaining and was able to pull away for the win. The Cougars limited Georgetown to just 34.4 percent shooting in the second half (11-of-32) and held the Tigers to a season-low 65 points in the process.
"(My) hat's off to Mountain State," said Georgetown head coach Happy Osborne. "I thought they played very well. We were tight early, and I can't explain what that means, but it got us into a hole."
For Georgetown, junior guard David Graham posted his first double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Gus Chase added 13 points while Guoins chipped in with 12 points for the Tigers.
GAME NOTES -
Georgetown:
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*Had its 35-game win streak snapped with the loss
*No. 1 seed has not won the NAIA Division I Tournament since 2004, when Mountain State defeated Concordia (Calif.) in the title game
*Georgetown has 49 NAIA Tournament victories, which is the most all-time.
*The Tigers were playing in their 11th NAIA Fab Four.
*Gus Chase scored at least 10 points in all 36 games for Georgetown this season.
Mountain State:
*James Spencer scored 16 of his 25 points in the first 10 minutes of play vs. Georgetown.
*Mountain State is now 3-0 all-time against Georgetown in NAIA Tournament play, winning all three games in the national semifinal round (2003 and 2004).
*The Cougars held Georgetown to its lowest point total of the season - 65 points.
*The Cougars are looking to become the first No. 5 seed to win the NAIA championship since 1995, when Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) claimed the title.
*Mountain State will be making its third championship game appearance (2003 and 2004)
