Northwestern State Wins Men's O'Reilly Auto Parts/SLC Tournament Title
March 12, 2006
NATCHITOCHES, La. -
Northwestern State's veteran, deep roster made the Demons' dreams come true Sunday, as tournament MVP Clifton Lee's 22 points led four double-digit scorers and 10 Demons who contributed points to a 95-87 victory over Sam Houston State in the championship game of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Southland Conference Basketball Tournament.
The triumph, the seventh straight overall for Northwestern and their 15th consecutive win over SLC opposition, lifted the Demons (25-7) into the NCAA Tournament. It came in front of a record crowd of 3,930 at Prather Coliseum, where Northwestern finished with a 14-0 record, one of only eight teams nationwide unbeaten at home this season.
The NCAA Tournament berth is the second in the Demons' 30 years of Division I basketball, both coming under coach Mike McConathy. NSU made its fourth SLC tournament championship game appearance in McConathy's seven seasons and extended its' single-season school record win total to 25.
It erased the pain of a homecourt loss in last year's SLC tournament title game, when visiting Southeastern Louisiana snapped a 10-game winning streak by Northwestern with a 49-42 victory that vaulted the Lions into the NCAA Tournament.
"What this means, I can't put into words," said McConathy "It's clearing a hurdle. We know we have a team that can win games in the NCAA Tournament, but to have that chance, we had to win this game."
The Demons were awaiting their pairing announcement at 5 o'clock. In their previous NCAA appearance, they beat Winthrop in the inaugural Opening Round game in Dayton, Ohio, in 2001, then were whipped by regional top seed Illinois four days later.
This season, the Demons completed a sweep of the SLC regular-season and tournament titles. They won the regular-season championship by 4 games over Sam Houston, with that margin and their 15-1 record in league play marking the most convincing SLC championship run in nine years.
NSU took the lead for good eight minutes into the game and had 16-point leads in each half, including a 48-37 advantage at halftime.
Jermaine Wallace added 16 points for the Demons, while All-Tournament pick Tyronn Mitchell had 13 points and 7 assists, and Kerwin Forges scored 13 points while hitting all 5 of his shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, while adding a free throw. They and Lee, who sank 7 of his 10 shots from the floor and 7 of 8 from the free throw line, are four of NSU's seven seniors.
Sam Houston State (22-9) had its five starters in double figures, paced by All-Tournament selection Jejuan Plair with 23 points, including 5-for-10 aim on 3-pointers. All-Tournament pick Ryan Bright had 17 points and 9 rebounds and All-Tournament pick John Gardiner scored 17, with the Bearkats' only senior, Chris Jordan, finishing with 12 points.
The Bearkats used 48 percent (12-of-25) 3-point shooting to stay within range of the Demons, but Northwestern sank 85 percent of its free throws (23-of-27), including 9 of 10 in the final 1:56 after Sam Houston chewed a 16-point deficit down to 86-83.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jordan after a layup by Bright comprised an 8-0 burst by the Bearkats over 2:24, making it a one-possession lead for NSU. Plair had a long 3-pointer to tie the game, but missed. Lee rebounded and was fouled, and drained both pressure free throws with 1:56 showing to pad the margin.
Plair hit his final 3-pointer 13 seconds later on the ensuing possession, but NSU worked the shot clock down to 1:11 before Luke Rogers was fouled and sank both free throws to make it 90-86.
Sam Houston missed a pair of 3-pointers on its next trip downcourt before a turnover gave the Demons possession. Lee made the second of two free throws with 48 seconds to go to make it a five-point NSU lead, then after Plair went 1-for-2 on the free throw line, Lee sank two more with 31 seconds left, lifting Northwestern ahead 93-87.
Jermaine Spencer stole a Sam Houston pass with 17 seconds left and Wallace was fouled four seconds later. He drained both free throws to put the game out of reach.