Region XII, District 8, March 5, 2004, at KVCC
Game 10 Championship Game
Mott 64, Kalamazoo Valley 61 [22-8] [Box Score] [30 Game Final Season Stats for KVCC]
The Cougars' run at a berth in the National Tournament came to a heartbreaking halt this afternoon, as the defending National Champion Mott Bears clamped on their tenacious defense to pull out a slender victory in front of the largest crowd of the year in Cougar Arena. The fired-up Cougar contingent roared out to a 20-9 lead behind two bulls-eye treys by Gerald Fletcher and one by Jamie Smith. But after a timeout, Mott dug in to hold KVCC scoreless for the next 6:27, sparking a 15-0 run to take the lead 24-20 with 4:17 remaining in the half. The Cougars, playing solid defense themselves, regrouped to keep it close at the half, trailing 27-30. Mott could only manage 11-35 (.315) from the floor against the Cougars, while KVCC was 10-29 (.345) as defense ruled the half. The offenses came to life in the final half as Mott improved to 13-25 (.520) and KVCC to 13-26 (.500) from the floor. The lead see-sawed during the half and a Darrahyl Brown layup off a nifty dish from Adam Kerfoot, gave the Cougars their biggest lead at 57-52 with 5:01 remaining. Just seconds later, however, Jerel Allen swished a long range bomber to tie it again at 55-55. Jamie Smith countered with another jumper at the 3:01 mark, giving the Cougars their final lead, 57-55. The Cougars would not score again until the :44 second mark, as Dominique Crawford's steal and layup gave Mott a 59-57 lead. Janon Cole sealed the win with a power layup with 1:15 remaining. BJ Jameson's basket with :44 left closed it to two again, but Cole responded with two big FT's with only :18 remaining to make it 63-61. A Jamie Smith jumper with :03 left was wide and a final desperation foul gave Allen another FT for the final 64-61 hard-earned Mott victory. Tournament MVP Jay Youngblood led all scorers with 23; Cole had 17, and Allen 13 for the Bears. Mott shot 24-60 (.400) for the game; KVCC was 23-55 (.418). Smith led KVCC with 17, Brown pumped in 13, and Gerald Fletcher contributed 11 to the Cougar cause. KVCC out-rebounded the Mott squad 40-32, with Smith's 14 a game high. The Bears converted 12-18 (.667) from the charity stripe while the Cougars were 9-14 (.643). Probably the most telling statistic was KVCC's 21 turnovers to only 12 by the Bears.
Coach's Comments: "The end of this game felt like Deja Vu to us. We held a 9 point lead at Mott last year with just over 5:00 remaining, and we did not score again in regulation, as they tied it and went on to win in OT by ten, then went on to win a National Championship. They are a talented bunch of athletes that are well-schooled defensively, and when their defense digs in it is hard to even complete a pass against them. My hat's off to Coach Schmidt and his squad. They made the big plays down the stretch and deserved to win. However, I am very proud of our Cougar squad. We were prepared, we came to play, and we left all we had on the floor. This was a great championship game with two determined teams playing solid defense at both ends of the floor. Our .500 second half shooting was a goal we reached only sparingly this season, and we did it today against what may well be the finest defensive team in the nation. Allen's 13 points, all in the second half, were big factors in the win, and big-time players like Youngblood and Cole stepped up again when it counted. While we didn't quite reach the nationals, it has been, nevertheless, an exciting and a remarkable season. We owe a lot to our sophomores, Larry Weller, David Stephens, Arthur Price, Gerald Fletcher, BJ Jameson, and Greg Dutton, and we have a solid nucleus returning for next year. It's on to the recruiting trail and our quest for a strong inside presence to replace Larry. Congratulations to Mott Community College and our best wishes for their success in the National Tournament in Danville March 17-20!"
The All Tournament squad was:
Jay Youngblood, Mott -- Tournament MVP
Jamie Smith, KVCC
Desmond Favors, Lake Michigan
Jerel Allen, Mott
Larry Weller, KVCC
Darrahyl Brown, KVCC
Game 9 Kalamazoo Valley 58, Lake Michigan 57 [Box Score] [29 Game Accumulative Stats for KVCC]
Jumping out on a layup by Anthony Curry, the Indians led the entire first half in this semi-final game. A triple by Jamie Smith with 3:46 left pulled the Cougars within one at 24-23, but two triples by Desmond Favors preserved a 30-27 halftime lead for Lake Michigan. The second half was nip and tuck throughout, with five points the largest margin either team could muster. This game, like the first two played between these teams this year, was as tight as tight can be. Tied numerous times, a Favors' jumper put LMC up 52-49 with 6:00 left. Points were scarce down the stretch, as Adam Kerfoot cashed in on a driving layup with 4:19 left to give KVCC a 53-52 lead. BJ Jameson increased the margin with a driving layup to stretch the slender margin to 55-52 at the 1:59 mark, but a triple by Ricardo Horton 12 seconds later tied the game once more at 55-55. Larry Weller stepped up with a FT with 1:25 to give the Cougars a 56-55 advantage. KVCC held LMC off and got the ball back with less than :10 on the clock. Adam Kerfoot stepped up to the line at the :05 mark, and his errant shot was deftly gobbled up by Darrahyl Brown, who put back the biggest basket of the game to give KVCC a 58-55 margin. A basket by Anthony Curry at the buzzer made it 58-57 KVCC. Favors led all scorers with 22, while Corey Thacker scored 8 and hauled down 10 rebounds for LMC. Jamie Smith led KVCC with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Larry Weller chipped in 16 points on 7-9 shooting; Larry also grabbed 6 rebounds to go with Brown's 8 and Smith's 11. KVCC held a 44-36 rebound edge. LMC shot 24-56 (.429) from the floor; KVCC was 24-68 (.353) for the game. Neither team shot many FT's, and neither team shot FT's well. The Cougars were 5-11 (.455) and the Indians 2-5 (.400) from the charity stripe.
Coach's Comments: "This tense game was a match-up of similar teams with similar philosophies. Minor mistakes and big plays made the difference in the outcome, as possession after possession each team used most of the 35 second shot clock before a shot was taken. Jamie Smith's offense off the bench was huge tonight, as was Ace Willhite's defense. The Loy Norrix couple paired up to get and to prevent big baskets tonight. Ace's 5 steals and Jamie's 11 rebounds were game highs. Larry Weller went 7-9 from the field as he gave us still another solid floor game. We have worked hard on offensive rebounding on FT's and tonight that paid handsome dividends as Darrahyl Brown slid neatly around a block-out to put back the game winner with less than 5 seconds left. We are delighted to be in the Regional Championship game for the second straight year, but we all know that we'll have to play much better tomorrow to have a chance against No. 3 Mott Community College. At least we made it to the game, so we have a fighting chance. We've won two tournament games this week while shooting .371 and .353 from the floor respectively. A win tomorrow will require much better shooting and the best defense we have played to date. We look forward to the challenge."
Game 8 Mott 78, Wayne County 62 [Box Score]
March 4 Games
Game 7 Kalamazoo Valley 77, St. Clair 59 [Box Score] [28 Game Accumulative Stats for KVCC]
A see-saw battle in the opening half ended with a flurry of threes, two by St. Clair and one by KVCC's BJ Jameson from mid-court at the buzzer, closing the gap to 35-34. The Skippers shot a sizzling 15-29 (.517) from the floor while the Cougars could only muster a meager 13-38 (.342). The second half, however, saw a different Cougar team, as the defense stiffened to hold St. Clair to 9-29 (.310) shooting. The Cougars could only manage 10-24 (.417) in the final stanza, but forcing 25 St. Clair turnovers proved to be the deciding factor for the victors. Valley was 23-62 (.371) from the floor; St. Clair finished at 24-58 (.314). KVCC got to the line 33 times, making 23 for .697, while St. Clair was 6-8 (.750) from the charity stripe. Both teams had balanced scoring as Jacob Falter led St. Clair with 12, and Michael Frantz dropped in 10. The Cougars were led by Darrahyl Brown and Lorne Johnson with 13 each; Gerald Fletcher had 10, while Jamie Smith, BJ Jameson, and David Stephens all chipped in 9. KVCC won the rebound battle 41-36 with Smith's 8 leading the way. Falter led St. Clair with 7.
Coach's Comments: "I thought BJ's mid-court triple to end the half sparked our second half start. There were two distinct reasons in my mind that we were able to pull this one out. First, we forced 25 turnovers with our pressure in the second half (10 TO's), and secondly, we got to the line 33 times by aggressively attacking the basket. This was Lorne Johnson's best game as a Cougar, and BJ Jameson gave us a big lift again from the bench. Larry's defense was solid, and Arthur played another outstanding floor game. Lake Michigan played a super game against Grand Rapids, so tomorrow will be another stiff challenge. But at least we are one of the four teams remaining that has a chance for a region championship. I'm proud of the way our guys played together tonight, and I'm especially proud of their defensive efforts."
Game 6 Mott 92, Lansing 82 [Box Score]
Game 5 Wayne County 85, Glen Oaks 66 [Box Score]
Game 4 Lake Michigan 68, Grand Rapids 64 [Box Score]
March 3 Games
Game 3 Lansing 86, Muskegon 70 [Box Score]
Game 2 Glen Oaks 88, Kellogg 66 [Box Score]
Game 1 Lake Michigan 71, Oakland 68 [Box Score]
2nd Round MCCAA State Tournament Game
Wayne County CCD 77, Kalamazoo Valley 76 02/25/04 [Box Score] [27 Game Accumulative Stats] [Final 14 Game League Stats]
Another exciting basketball game at Cougar Arena! Wayne County CCD, coming off a big 88-85 win over Mott CC, the nation's number one NJCAA Division II team last week, and 95-57 winner over Muskegon in Round 1 of the MCCAA State Tournament Monday, rode solid defense and an aggressive, attacking, board-banging offense to edge out the never-say-die Cougars tonight. Behind Marc Williams' 18 second half points, the Wildcats erased a 41-51 deficit at the 14:02 mark to take the lead at 75-74 with :51 remaining. Jamie Smith tossed in a jumper from the paint with :27 left to give the Cougars their last lead at 76-75. But Williams was not done as he cleared the defense to hit a jumper from 18' to give the Wildcats the 77-76 lead. Larry Weller drove hard to the basket on the last possession, but the sticky Wildcat defense knocked the ball loose. A wild scramble wound up with a jump ball and a final Cougar possession with :00.7 remaining. Fletcher in-bounded the ball to Jamie Smith, who shot instantly from 17' but the last second Cougar heroics were not to be tonight as the shot was wide of the mark as the buzzer sounded. Williams led WCCCD with 18, Anthony Butler had 13, Ricky Henderson 12, and Brent Henderson 11. Ricky Henderson grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 51-45 edge on the glass. KVCC was led by Darrahyl Brown's 14 points and 14 rebounds. Smith and David Stephens each had 10 and Arthur Price 9. WCCCD shot 32-73 (.438) from the floor; KVCC was 25-71 (.352). Wayne connected on 4-18 treys for .222; KVCC was 10-26 for .346 from long range. The Achilles Heel for KVCC, however, was a dismal 16-30 (.548) from the FT line; WCCCD was 9-14 (.643) from the charity stripe.
Coach's Comments: "We played hard tonight, but the most disappointing thing to me was our inability to hold or expand on the 54-41 lead we opened on David Stephens' triple at the 13:17 mark. When they came at us hard, we simply were not physical enough to hold them off. We had a 5 rebound advantage at halftime, but they pounded us by 11 in the closing stanza. Our offense was better in the second half (14-31 for .452), but we just could not stop them from penetrating and breaking us down. Wayne is a VERY good team; in fact, I would rate them as a top contender for Regional honors next week. I just hope we can get a little tougher defensively by next week. We have had another very good year, but would like to make some noise in the regional next week to wrap things up. I never expected our team to go brain dead at the FT line, as we had finally climbed above 70% as a team for the year--respectable for any team. But, when so many games are decided by the smallest of margins, each missed FT tonight resulted in a lost opportunity. We have won more than our share of close games this year, especially at home. Tonight our miscues doomed us because our defense was just not tough enough to keep them at bay. We will be playing in the Regional next Thursday night at 7:30 PM at KVCC. Our opponent is yet to be determined."
Kalamazoo Valley 93, Ancilla 51 02/20/04 [Box Score] [26 Game Accumulative Stats] [14 Game League Stats]
Behind stingy defense and balanced scoring, the Cougars opened up a 39-15 halftime advantage in this one. Ancilla managed only 7-23 (.304) shooting in the opening stanza, and they improved to a modest 21-63 (.333) for the game. Coupled with 1-13 (.077) shooting from long range, and 25 turnovers, these statistics led to Ancilla's demise this evening. Germayne James, Richmond, IN, led all scorers with 23. Chris Williams 11 pts and 9 rbs, and Steve Fox 10 pts, 5 rbs, paced the Chargers, while KVCC placed 5 scorers in double figures; Jamie Smith 13, Darrahyl Brown and Gerald Fletcher 12 each, Gareth Murray 11, and David Stephens 10. KVCC had 47 rebounds to Ancilla's 42. Brown's 8 paced the Cougars. KVCC shot 36-78 (.462) from the field and 9-27 (.333) from behind the arc.
Coach's Comments: "Our defense set the pace in this one, as we were able to disrupt Ancilla's half court attack effectively in the opening half. We got solid performances off the bench from Smith (13), Jameson (6, 5 assts), Stephens (10), Sharp (7), Kerfoot (4, 4 assts), Murray (11), and Dutton (7). The win, coupled with Lansing's 90-81 victory over Glen Oaks, gives us a bye for next Monday in the MCCAA State Tournament. We will play at home next Wednesday against the Wayne County/Muskegon winner of the Monday game played in Detroit. Tonight was the first time in league competition that we were able to pull away from someone early. I was pleased with our balance and our overall defensive effort, especially in the first half. Our combination of Kerfoot, Dutton, Willhite, Murray, and Matthews with 4:45 left helped us go on a 24-6 run to finish the game strong."