By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
William Carey University’s stirring run in the NAIA Men’s Basketball Championships came to an end Monday night in the tournament semifinals after a second-half comeback bid fell short.
The Crusaders fell behind by as many as 20 points against No. 1-ranked Georgetown (Ky.), and that was too much to overcome as Carey dropped a 94-83 decision at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
Carey completed one of its most successful seasons in head coach Steve Knight’s 37 seasons as head coach at 25-10.
Georgetown (32-4) advanced to play Carroll (Mont.) at 8 p.m. Tuesday night for the men’s national championship. Carroll defeated Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 66-55 in the other semifinal.
The Tigers never trailed, and after Carey tied the game 9-9, Georgetown quickly built a 10-point lead, 25-15. The Tigers extended their lead to 35-21 before Carey closed to within 11, 35-24.
However, Georgetown used a 7-0 spurt in the final 35 seconds of the first half to take a 42-24 lead into the halftime break.
The Tigers converted 16 of 26 shots in the first half (61.5 percent), and while they cooled off in the second half, they still finished the game shooting 56.9 percent (33 of 58). Much of that was due to a 50-26 scoring edge in the paint. Georgetown also outrebounded Carey 42-33.
After Georgetown built its biggest lead of the game, 44-24, early in the second half, the Crusaders caught fire. In particular, junior Brandon Cranford got hot from 3-point range.
The 6-foot-4 transfer from Pearl River Community College scored 11 points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half and finished with 26 points, including 8 of 15 from beyond the arc.
Carey went on a 29-12 run to close the margin to 56-53 with 11 minutes to play.
But the Tigers responded with a 17-6 surge to take a 73-59 lead with 5:57 to play, and they were able to keep the Crusaders at bay the rest of the game.
Freshman Dalen Dotson added 14 points for William Carey, senior Adrian Williams had 12 points and junior Cameron Douglas had 10 points.
Chris Coffey scored 32 points and had 12 rebounds for Georgetown, and Dominique Reid added 22 points and 8 rebounds for the Tigers.
NAIA Men’s Basketball Championships
At Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Scores/Schedule
First round
Wednesday
Bethel (Tenn.) 77, John Brown (Ark.) 57
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 71, Campbellsville (Ky.) 70
LSU-Shreveport 83, William Jessup (Cal.) 65
LSU-Alexandria 81, Central Baptist (Ark.) 74
Georgetown (Ky.) 77, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 57
William Penn (Iowa) 69, Vanguard (Cal.) 53
Loyola-New Orleans (La.) 68, Missouri Baptist 67
Arizona Christian 81, Wayland Baptist 73
Thursday
Pikeville (Ky.) 69, Talladega (Ala.) 65
Wiley (Texas) 68, Cumberlands (Ky.) 56
Carroll (Mont.) 71, St. Thomas-Houston (Texas) 65
Oklahoma City 101, Stillman (Ala.) 84
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 73, Tougaloo 64
William Carey 95, Peru State (Neb. )89
Benedictine (Kan.) 90, Westmont (Cal.) 85
Sciences and Arts (Okla.) 78, The Masters, Cal. 75
Second round
Friday
Carroll (Mont.) 80, Oklahoma City 69
LSU-Alexandria 78, Bethel (Tenn.) 73
Georgetown (Ky.) 82, LSU-Shreveport 79
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 88, William Penn (Iowa) 86
Arizona Christian 83, Loyola-New Orleans (La.) 77
William Carey 62, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 60
Pikeville (Ky.) 83, Benedictine (Kan.) 78, 2 OT
Science and Arts (Okla.) 76, Wiley (Texas) 63
Quarterfinals
Saturday
William Carey 102, Science & Arts (Okla.) 98 (OT)
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 80, LSU-Alexandria 74
Georgetown (Ky.) 80, Arizona Christian 78
Carroll (Mont.) 72, Pikeville (Ky.) 56
Semifinals
Monday
Georgetown (Ky.) 94, William Carey 83
Carroll (Mont.) 66, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 55
Championship
Tuesday
8 p.m. – Georgetown, Ky. (32-4) vs. Carroll, Mont. (29-7).
Carey Basketball Summary
NAIA Men’s National Tournament
Monday at Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Georgetown (Ky.) 94, William Carey 83
WCU 24 59 – 83
GC 42 52 – 94
WILLIAM CAREY (25-10): Brandon Cranford 26, Adrian Williams 12, Leito Holloway 9, Rodney Mallett 2, Dalen Dotson 14, Cameron Douglas 10, Javontae McDavid 6, Jartavius Dobbs 4. TOTALS – FG 30-75 (3FG 14-32), FT 9-10 (83).
GEORGETOWN (32-4): Brodricks Jones 4, Eljay Cowherd 14 (6 assists), Jacob Conway 10, Chris Coffey 32 (12 rebounds), Troy Steward 2, Dominique Reid 22 (8 rebounds), Joe Burton 9 (6 assists). TOTALS – FG 33-58 (3FG 6-17), FT 22-30 (94).
