NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
Second-half run falls short in BBC's first NCAA III tournament game
Baptist Bible College's men's basketball team dropped its bid at a second round game, falling Friday night in Collegeville, PA, to the host Ursinus College Bears 94-76 in the first round of the NCAA III tournament.
Ursinus led throughout, starting the game with a 13-0 run before the Defenders could score on a fast break toss to Tim O'Keefe at the 16:13 mark. The first-half ended with BBC down by 20 points, 53-33.
In the second, after the Bears ran to a 67-41 lead at the 15:16 mark, it looked as if Ursinus would run away with the contest. But the Defenders had their best answer of the game and went on a 15-0 run over the next five minutes, closing the lead to 11, 67-56.
Ursinus then surged a bit to keep the distance, going back up by as many as 16 before the Defenders cut it to 12, 86-74, with 2:48 to play. That was as close as BBC got as John Noonan hit a three-pointer one minute later and the Bears finished at the free throw line for the 94-76 win.
Josh Workman led the Defenders with 22 points. Tim O'Keefe poured in 15 and completed a double-double with 16 rebounds. Teammate Justin Cook finished with 14 points.
Ursinus' Nick Shattuck finish with 31 points to lead all scorers. John Noonan scored 28. Michael Shema pulled down 10 rebounds for the Bears and added 16 points.
Ursinus (26-2) defeated Gettysburg College to win the Centennial Conference championship and advance to the tournament. It was the Collegeville, PA, school's third title in the last four seasons. It ranked first in the most recent NCAA Division III Middle Atlantic poll.
BBC (18-10) captured the NEAC championship with an 84-73 win over Cazenovia College. The victory gave the Defenders automatic qualification to the NCAAs. It is the first time the Defenders have won a NEAC championship.
BBC Defender Athletics will move to the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference in 2008-2009. BBC will become the 12th full-time institution member of the conference and will join nearby Keystone College and Marywood University. To learn more, go to www.bbcdefenders.com.
Posted on: 3/8/2008 10:42:59 AM
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