The Undercurrent

Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Sarah Maslonka South Paw - Junior Kyle Stribe attempts a shot from beyond the arc during Saturday's loss to Loras 77-69.

The BVU men's basketball team pushed it to the limit. They ran a good race, but they could not make it to the finish line first. For the second straight year, the Loras College Duhawks defeated BVU for the title in the finals of the Iowa Conference Tournament. They lost 77-69.

During the first half, Loras jumped out to a great start. They scored the first nine points, which proved to be the largest point differential of the game. BVU did not put any points on the board until the third minute of the game. Once they finally got on the board, they began to chip away at Loras's lead. With just over four minutes left in the first half, senior Eric Holton stole the ball and junior Matt Cleveland placed the ball in the hoop to bring about the first tie of game. The Beavers closed out the half, leading by six points.
To open the second half, the men came out with the same energy that they closed the first half with. They built their lead to nine points with just over a minute gone in the second half before Loras began to come back. Loras dug out of their hole to tie the game at 41. The Beavers went back and forth with the Duhawks for the next few minutes of the game.

Loras trailed by four points with 3:39 left in the contest, but then went on a 13-1 run. Junior Andre Wagner scored a game-high 23 points. Juniors Brian Fogleman and Kyle Stribe contributed eight points each. Overall, BVU shot just over 44 percent from the field.

While BVU lost the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, they were granted an at-large bid to the tournament. Tonight, they will play St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. If they win, they will face the winner of Chicago vs. UW-Stevens. Head men's basketball coach Brian VanHaaften said the team will continue doing what they have done all season.

"We are very excited about making the NCAA Tournament," VanHaaften said. "It is a privilege to play. At the same time, we expect to go up to St. Thomas and play well. We understand it will be a tough game, but it will also be a very tough game for them. We will prepare for St. Thomas just like any other team. We will try to take away their best sets and their best player and see what happens from there."

In addition to the team making the NCAA tournament, the team has another reason to celebrate. Three players landed on the All-IIAC team and Coach VanHaaften was named the Coach of the Year. Wagner earned a spot on the All-IIAC first team. Wagner averaged a career-high and team-leading 14.7 points a game. Fogleman was named to the second team and Cleveland read honorable mention. This is the sixth time in the last 11 years Coach VanHaaften has received the Coach of the Year award.

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