Nelson Warriors Survive Round One vs the College of the Ozarks

The Nelson University Warriors escaped round one of the NCCAA National Championship Tournament with a thrilling overtime victory against host College of the Ozarks, at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. Zaveion Bineyard (24 points - all in the second half and overtime) hit a short runner with 1.8 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a one point lead, then held his breath as a last second Ozark heave fell short of the basket, securing the heart-pounding win.

"The job's not finished," remarked Kole Ebert in his first playoff game with the Warriors as head coach. "It is a relief to have gotten out of this one with the win, but we have to immediately turn our attention to our next game because that is coming in less than 24 hours. We'll celebrate in the locker room, and I'm sure the guys will need a little time to wind down from all the excitement of the ending, but we have to be prepared and ready to go tomorrow, and it's my job to make sure we are."

Throughout the first half, the two teams traded leads, neither team allowing the other to gain complete control, the largest seperation for either side being just four points. The Ozarks opened the second half on a tear, playing as if they wanted to put their foot on the Warriors' proverbial throat. Out-hustling the Nelson squad early on, the Bobcats used an 11-4 run to take an eight-point lead just 2:37 in. With Harley Upton (21p/6r) quiet offensively and both he and Rob Jenkins struggling from the field early (although finishing with 24p/7r/4a/3s/1b), it was the heroics of Bineyard who kept the game from quickly getting out of hand by scoring his team's first ten points of the second half, his first points of the game.

Rallying around their Conference First-Team forward selection, the Warriors remained composed, and for the next 10 minutes of game play stayed within two possessions, just a shot and an a turnover away from a chance to tie or take the lead. Then, Harley roared his engines.

Upton nailed his first 3-pointer with 6:53 remaining, continuing his career-year from beyond the arc in which he has made at least one outside shot in every game, giving his club it's first lead of the second half. Moments later he hit a layup, then another 3 to single-handedly take over his team's scoring over a three minute stretch.

The battle raged on as the Warriors attempted to pull away for good, but was met with a fierce reprisal from the Bobcats who refused to lay down. Yet, undeterred playing in such a difficult environment, when it mattered the team turned to it's preeminent scorer, and Harley Upton answered the call, nailing a game-tying three with 21 seconds remaining quieting the loud and raucous home crowd. Then, following a timeout, Kyle Flavin, missed short on a 3-point attempt with just over a second remaining, the errant ball was secured under the basket for an offensive rebound by Jay Baxter who missed an easy put back at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra period, the tournament titans played with a level of urgency one would expect from two teams facing elimination, easily the most exciting game of the day in both the men's and women's brackets, as noted by the game announcer. Unfortunately, despite building a five-point lead with 1:38 to go following a Bineyard layup, the Bobcats roared back and pounced on the Warriors one last time, ultimately taking a one-point lead with 12 seconds remaining.

Following a timeout, Rob Jenkins, calmly brought the ball across the midcourt line, and with seven seconds left, drove down the left side of the lane, only to nearly lose the ball out of bounds when it clipped the side of his foot. Miraculously, the ball had some back spin on it and rather then flying out, ending the game with a heart-breaking turnover, it slowed, remaining in play for Jenkins to regain control. In an instant, Bineyard flashed to the basket, and catching a glimpse of him as he turned, Jenkins tossed the rock to his teammate who caught it and laid it in with 1.8 seconds remaining. The Okzarks, out of timeouts, were forced to throw the ball down the court where Baxter caught it and quickly flung it to the hoop in desperation, once again missing short, but this ending the game.

Despite the College of the Ozarks' best efforts to capitalize on their home-court advantage, the Warriors' experience and composure proved to be the difference. This victory propels the Warriors into the Semifinals tomorrow evening (March 20) at 6:45pm, with a chance to play in the National Championship game should they one again emerge victorious.

Terrin Ross and Orlando Gonzales played well on both ends of the floor, finishing with 4 points and 7 rebounds and 4 points, 3 assists respectively, while Tommy Randolph scored 9 points and Larry Holmes 7, both off the bench.

Garrett Snyder led the Bobcats with 36 points and Andrew Dalton finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds. Jay Baxter was a menace on the boards, finishing with 15, to go along with 6 rebounds.

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