By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – After losing the heart of his team from a year ago, Steve Knight wasn’t certain at the beginning of the 2018-19 season whether he had a team that could return to the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Tournament.
Yet, here the Crusaders are again, back on the road to Kansas City, Mo., for the fourth consecutive season and 13th time in Knight’s illustrious career.
Carey will battle Peru State (Neb.) in the opening round of the tournament at historic Municipal Auditorium at 5:45 p.m. Thursday.
The Crusaders earned an at-large berth in the nationals after finishing tied for first place in the Southern States Athletic Conference during the regular season.
“It’s very hard to replace the players we had to replace, and go 22-9,” said Knight, of his team’s overall record. “So, it’s a little bit surprising.
“We had to have several things happen. Our seniors, our two returners, had to step up and be good leaders. They have done that. We had to develop a good team chemistry, and we’ve had different guys carry us at different points in the season.”
Carey’s only two returning seniors were 6-foot-3 guard Adrian Williams and Branden Shepperd, a 6-8 forward from Shreveport, La. Both played previously for Pearl River Community College.
Williams started 30 of 31 games for the Crusaders, and is averaging 11.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while Shepperd averages 11.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game. Shepperd appears to be completely over an ankle injury that kept him out of two games in February.
“Adrian Williams has really been that player who has meant the most to us,” said Knight. “The effort he plays with is incredible. When he’s making plays out on the perimeter, we’re pretty good.”
Peru State (23-10) is making its 16th trip to the national tournament, and second straight. The Bobcats won the automatic bid in the Heart of American Conference after upsetting Benedictine (Kan.), the No. 1 team in NAIA, in the tournament final at Atchison, Kan.
“They’re big – 6-8, 6-6, 6-6 – and the 6-8 kid is the Player of the Year in their conference, an inside-outside guy, shoots from anywhere and averages 35 percent from 3-point range” said Knight of the Bobcats. “We think our quickness and athleticism will give them some problems.”
Lyle Hexom, a senior from Omaha, Neb., is the player Knight was referring to, and he leads a Peru State team that averages 81.9 points per game.
Hexom averages 20.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. The Crusaders will also have to deal with 6-6 swingman Brandon Jones, who averages 16.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game.
Senior Leito Holloway is Carey’s leading scorer, with 12.0 points per game, and the Crusaders also have sharp-shooting junior Brandon Cranford averaging 11.7 points per game off the bench.
The highlight of the Crusaders’ season came early, when they upset Southern Miss at Green Coliseum 78-72 on Nov. 25, and it was after that game that Knight decided to dust off a defense that he hadn’t used in 10 years.
“We changed and went to a matchup zone, and that made all the difference in the world,” said Knight. “It takes certain personnel to run. We’d practiced it but hadn’t used it in a game in 10 years.
“We didn’t have the kind of run-and-gun, average 90 points a game team that we’ve had in years past. We’ve had to protect our possessions, run some clock and value the basketball. And it’s been our ability to protect the ball that’s gotten us here.”
The Crusaders still averaged 78.6 points per game this season, thanks in large part to a 46.8 percent shooting average from the field, including 36.4 percent from 3-point range, and they have 112 fewer turnovers than their opponents.
Last year, Carey lost a heartbreaker to Life (Ga.) 68-67 in the first round of the tournament. In all, the Crusaders are 2-12 in their previous trips to the national tournament.
This is the 82nd NAIA National Basketball Tournament, which has been played for most of that time in Kansas City. It requires its champion to win five games in six or seven days
The tournament features eight first-round games on Wednesday and Thursday, and eight second-round contests on Friday, then four quarterfinals on Saturday. Semifinals are Monday, and the championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday.
William Carey is the fourth-seeded team in the Cramer Bracket of the tournament, while the Bobcats are seeded fifth. The winner plays at 5:45 p.m. Friday against the winner between top-seeded Tougaloo, a former longtime rival of the Crusaders, and Mid-America Christian (Okla.).
“We felt like we had a good talent level coming into the season,” said Knight. “But we knew how tough our league was going to be this year.
“Then it was just a matter of how quick the new guys could bond together with our returning players. We’ve been able to find some things that work for us, and here we are.”
Carey is one of four teams from the SSAC in the tournament field, including Stillman (Ala.), Bethel (Tenn.) and Loyola-New Orleans. Tougaloo is the only other Mississippi school in the tournament, after the Bulldogs won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.
NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship
At Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Schedule
First round
Wednesday
9 a.m. – Bethel, Tenn. (24-8) vs. John Brown, Ark. (23-10); 10:45 a.m. – Campbellsville, Ky. (22-9) vs. Lewis-Clark State, Idaho (27-6); 1:15 p.m. – LSU-Shreveport (22-10) vs. William Jessup, Cal. (23-10); 3 p.m. – Central Baptist, Ark. (22-10) vs. LSU-Alexandria (28-3); 4:45 p.m. – Rocky Mountain, Mont. (19-12) vs. Georgetown, Ky. (28-4); 6:30 p.m. – William Penn, Iowa (21-11) vs. Vanguard, Cal. (25-6); 8:15 p.m. – Loyola, La. (21-11) vs. Missouri Baptist (28-4); 10 p.m. – Arizona Christian (23-8) vs. Wayland Baptist, Texas (24-7).
Thursday
9 a.m. – Talladega, Ala. (24-7) vs. Pikeville, Ky. (23-8); 10:45 a.m. – Cumberlands, Ky. (23-8) vs. Wiley, Texas (23-6); 12:30 p.m. – St. Thomas, Texas (23-10) vs. Carroll, Mont. (25-7); 2:15 p.m. – Oklahoma City (21-10) vs. Stillman, Ala. (27-5); 4 p.m. – Mid-America Christian, Okla. (20-12) vs. Tougaloo (22-9); 5:45 p.m. – Peru State, Neb. (23-10) vs. William Carey (22-9); 7:30 p.m. – Westmont, Cal. (18-10) vs. Benedictine, Kan. (30-3); 9:15 p.m. – Sciences and Arts, Okla. (20-10) vs. The Masters (27-5).
Second round
Friday
9 a.m. – St. Thomas/Carroll winner vs. OCU/Stillman winner; 10:45 a.m. –Central Baptist/LSUA winner vs. Bethel/John Brown winner; 12:30 p.m. – Rocky Mountain/Georgetown winner vs. LSUS/William Jessup winner; 2:15 p.m. – William Penn/Vanguard winner vs. Campbellsville/Lewis-Clark State winner; 4 p.m. – Loyola/Missouri Baptist winner vs. Arizona Christian/Wayland Baptist winner; 5:45 p.m. – Mid-Am Christian/Tougaloo winner vs. Peru State/Carey winner; 7:30 p.m. – Westmont/Benedictine winner vs. Talladega/Pikeville winner; 9:15 p.m. – Cumberlands/Wiley winner vs. Science and Arts/Masters winner.
Quarterfinals
Saturday
Noon – Cramer Bracket final; 2 p.m. – Liston Bracket final; 5:30 p.m. – Naismith Bracket final; 7:30 p.m. – Duer Bracket final.
Semifinals
Monday
6 p.m. – Cramer Bracket winner vs. Naismith Bracket winner; 8 p.m. – Liston Bracket winner vs. Duer Bracket winner.
Championship
Tuesday
8 p.m. – Semifinal winners.
