Georgetown falls to Mountain State

No. 5 seed Mountain State University (W.Va.) posted a 78-65 victory over top-seeded Georgetown College (Ky.) in the semifinal round of the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Monday at Municipal Auditorium.

Senior guard James Spencer scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the first 10 minutes of play as Mountain State denied Georgetown its bid for an undefeated season. The Cougars move to 34-2 and will face either No. 7 seed Oklahoma City University or unseeded Campbellsville University (Ky.) in Tuesday's national championship contest. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. CDT. Georgetown was handed its first loss of the 2007-08 season and finishes the year with a record of 35-1.

Mountain State improved to 3-0 all-time against Georgetown in NAIA Tournament play, with all three wins coming in the national semifinals. The Cougars defeated the Tigers 106-89 in the 2003 semifinals and followed that with a 96-77 decision in the 2004 NAIA Fab Four.

"I'm real proud of our team," said Mountain State head coach Bob Bolen. "There's still one step (left), and it's a huge step. They got going and got James the ball. He was feeling it and he had the green light."

Spencer, who is second in NAIA Division I in scoring, was 8-of-14 from the field, including five three-point field goals, in leading the Cougars to the win. Senior guard Jarvis Jackson chipped in with 16 points and a team-high six assists, while senior guard Adron Marshall connected for 13 points for Mountain State.

Mountain State led the entire contest, scoring 10 of the first 14 points of the game before using an 11-3 run to grab a 30-16 advantage with 7:39 left in the period. Spencer started the run with consecutive three-point field goals, while Marshall capped the run with a 21-foot shot. The Cougars eventually stretched the margin to 16 points before Georgetown battled back to cut the deficit to 42-31 at halftime. In the first 20 minutes of play, Mountain State connected on 8-of-14 shots from three-point range.

Junior guard Demetrius Guoins scored the final five points of an 8-3 run for Georgetown to open the second half as the Tigers closed the gap to 45-39 with just over 15 minutes on the clock. Mountain State was able to build the lead back to double digits with nine minutes remaining and was able to pull away for the win. The Cougars limited Georgetown to just 34.4 percent shooting in the second half (11-of-32) and held the Tigers to a season-low 65 points in the process.

"(My) hat's off to Mountain State," said Georgetown head coach Happy Osborne. "I thought they played very well. We were tight early, and I can't explain what that means, but it got us into a hole."

For Georgetown, junior guard David Graham posted his first double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Gus Chase added 13 points while Guoins chipped in with 12 points for the Tigers.

Campbellsville's Run Ended by Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City University is in position to defend its NAIA national championship from last season following a 78-64 victory Monday against Campbellsville University (Ky.) in the semifinal round of the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

Oklahoma City becomes the first team since Kentucky State University in 1970-72 to advance to the NAIA title game three consecutive years, and is seeking the first NAIA Division I back-to-back championships since Life University (Ga.) accomplished the feat in 1999 and 200. The No. 7-seeded Stars are now 30-7 overall and will face No. 5 seed Mountain State University (W.Va.) in Tuesday's NAIA national championship contest. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. CDT. Oklahoma City defeated Concordia University (Calif.) in the 2007 NAIA championship game, 79-71.

As a team, Oklahoma City shot 54 percent for the game (27-of-50) while holding Campbellsville to just 37.5 percent from the floor (24-of-64). Monday's win was the 14^th in a row for the Stars, who now hold the longest active win streak in NAIA Division I. The victory also helped Oklahoma City avenge a 76-57 loss at Campbellsville back on Nov. 24.

"The last couple of night we've been really, really good on the defensive end," said Oklahoma City head coach Ray Harper. "We held (Campbellsville) to 37 percent shooting from the field. That was a team that had beaten us by 19 earlier in the year."

Senior guard Kameron Gray and senior forward Ollie Bailey each scored a team-high 17 points, while Bailey pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Senior guard Ronald Taylor posted 16 points and nine rebounds, while senior forward Willie Irick connected for 14 points. Junior guard Richard Jackson came off the bench to score 12 points for the Stars.

Oklahoma City started the game on an 11-2 run over the first four minutes of play. Campbellsville responded by scoring the next seven points to pull within 11-9 at the 14:57 mark. The contest remained tight until the Stars reeled off 10 consecutive points to build a 25-13 advantage with 6:13 left in the period. Jackson scored the first five points of the outburst, while Taylor had the last five points of the run for Oklahoma City.

After holding a 35-23 lead at the intermission, Oklahoma City stretched its lead to as many as 17 points midway through the second half. Campbellsville made one final run at the Stars late in the contest, pulling within 73-64 on a basket by junior forward Deveon Jenkins with 1:13 on the clock.

"This was a great effort, no complaints," said Campbellsville head coach Keith Adkins. "We will leave here with a big smile on our face. I give our guys credit. We battled but we just didn't get the breaks."

Campbellsville, which was making its first appearance in the NAIA Fab Four, finished its season with an overall record of 29-7. Senior guard Bubba Long led all scorers with 21 points for the Tigers, while senior forward Nestor Colmenares contributed 13 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.