the real "DANCE".

[the Disemboweler]

Virginia Union 63, Bryant 58


March 26, 2005




GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Antwan Walton’s three-point play with 1:29 remaining broke a tie and gave Virginia Union its first NCAA Division II men’s basketball championship since 1992, a 63-58 triumph over Bryant (R.I.) Saturday afternoon at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Walton hit a hanging jumper in the lane and drew the foul as the senior forward provided the Panthers with their most important points of the game. Walton finished with a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Luqman Jaaber’s steal and pair of free throws with six seconds remaining clinched the victory for Virginia Union. It was a fitting end for the Panthers, who hit 18-of-20 foul shots in the game, outscoring Bryant 18-4 from the free throw line.

The Panthers led throughout the first half, but a 17-9 run by Bryant midway through the second half gave the Bulldogs their first lead since the opening minutes at 50-49. Sophomore Chris Burns, who led all scorers with 24 points off the bench, scored five of Bryant’s points during the second half run.

After Virginia Union scored the next nine points to grab a 58-50 lead, Burns brought Bryant back again, tying the game at 58-58 with a three from the far corner. The Bulldogs shot 8-of-15 from beyond the arc in the second half.

However, it wasn’t enough. Walton, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, broke the final tie almost a minute and a half later to lift his team to the title.

Virginia Union head coach Dave Robbins become just the third man to win three Division II national championships and the first to win at least one title in three different decades. Robbins joins Evansville’s Arad McCutchan and Cal State Bakersfield’s Pat Douglass as the only three-time Division II champion coaches.

--Courtesy North Dakota


The men's basketball team finished second in the nation after Wisconsin-Stevens Point defeated Rochester, 73-49, in the national championship game Saturday night.


Rochester finishes the season at 25-5. It is the third championship game appearance for the Yellowjackets in the past 15 seasons. This was Rochester's 10th appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament.


Wisconsin-Stevens Point opened the second half with a red-hot shooting display and stretched a three-point halftime lead to 16 (50-34). The Pointers hit eight of their first nine floor shots after intermission with Nick Bennett, son of UWSP coach Jack Bennett, canning 15 of his 18 points.


"Bennett couldn't get his hands on the ball in the first half," said Rochester coach Mike Neer. "He got over that in the second half."


UWSP opened an early 13-7 lead eight minutes into the game with 6-4 sophomore Jon Krull scoring nine of the 13 points - three layups and three free throws.


Rochester ran off eight straight points. Tim Brackney sank a three-pointer from right wing. Seth Hauben added a follow, then Brackney hit another three - this one from in front of the Stevens Point bench, to give Rochester a 15-13 lead with 9:17 remaining in the opening half.


After the Pointers edged in front, the Yellowjackets tied it four times - first at 17-17 on a pair of Hauben free throws. Then at 20-all when Brendan McAllister sank a trey from the left corner. Brackney hit a 10-footer just outside the lane for 22-22 and after a conventional three-point play by Jason Kaslow, Ryan Mee connected from the left of the key with a trey to make it 25-all with 48 seconds left.


Freshman Steve Hicklin banged in a three from right wing with 21 seconds left and Brackney's trey at the buzzer rattled in, then out as the horn sounded.


It was 28-25 UWSP at the half, but the Pointers opened the second half with a 14-5 run over the first 4:28 to take a 42-32 lead.


Jon Onyiriuka got inside for 14 points (6 of 10 from the line) and 11 rebounds. He led the Yellowjackets in scoring and rebounding. Brackney finished with 11. Seth Hauben, guarded tightly all night - mostly double-teamed - finished with eight points and eight rebounds.


Both coaches saw that as a key to the game. "Hauben's a handfull," said Stevens Point coach Jack Bennett. "You can't guard him singly. We said before the game we must cage him. We didn't want Hauben to get loose on us."


"They are very long (armed), and played the zone very well," said Rochester coach Mike Neer. "They made it tough for us to get the ball to Seth."


Notes: The game was broadcast nationally by CSTV (Channel 53 on the Time Warner System in Rochester. Channel 610 on Direct TV.) It will be replayed on Sunday night, March 20 and Monday night, March 21 - both times at 10 pm... Seth Hauben was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team... Hauben finished his career with 1,713 points (third overall) and 1,113 rebounds (first)... Gabe Perez had four assists, boosting his season's total to 108 and his career total to 448. He passed assistant coach Adrian Smalls for fourth place on the career assist ladder... Yellowjacket seniors finished with a four-year record of 97-17. They won 20 or more in every year (24-6, 23-4, 25-2, 25-5) and reached the NCAA playoffs in each season with two Final Four appearances. The four years of 20 or more wins and the four straight NCAA appearances are firsts in school history.