With the Atlantic Sun Championship on the line sophomore Adam Sollazzo was fouled and headed to the line with his team up one.
Sollazzo stood at the line and connected on both free throws of a one-and-one and did not scream or celebrate. He just turned pounded a small 43 on his chest and pointer skyward. Sollazzo wears number 43, but that has always been because last year his roommate Seth Coy wore 43. During the summer, Coy was killed in an auto accident.
The team wanted to honor their fallen player and did so by placing small number 43 patches on their uniforms. Sollazzo wanted to do more, so he changed his number to that of his former roommates.
“My whole freshman year he was there for me,” Sollazzo said. “Whenever I was home sick or anything he was always there to help. He was my best friend.”
Sollazzo has never forgotten his former roommate and before every game just like when they were freshman, Sollazzo talks to his friend.
“Every game after the national anthem I take a minute and talk to him,” Sollazzo said. “Tonight I told him I know you are going to be out there with us and lead us to victory.”
After claiming the Atlantic Sun title on Saturday night, ETSU held up a number 43 sign in honor of Seth Coy.
“It gives us that extra drive,” Tommy Hubbard said. “We think about him in every possession. We never forget how fortunate we are to be able to play.”
With the game on the line against Mercer, the Bears locked down Hubbard and Micah Williams as Sollazzo came open. The sophomore ran down floor and got fouled. The forward’s free throws hit almost every part of the rim and went in. Sollazzo knows why.
“A couple of those free throws hung on the rim a little bit and I know he (Seth) helped me push them in,” Sollazzo said. “Afterward, I pointed up just to thank him and told him I love him.”
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Florence Holds Final Bullet in a Four-Year Duel
For four years, Mercer's James Florence and Jacksonville's Ben Smith have been compared and contrasted to each other. Ever since both emerged from the Georgia high school scene they have stared each other down on the basketball court, often matching up in one-on-one showdowns.
While Florence put up the gaudier numbers (Mercer's all-time leading scorer, second in A-Sun history), Smith's teams enjoyed more team success (two regular-season titles) but in the final minutes of their final showdown, Florence stated his case for top guard as he drilled a 3-point try from the top of the key (his first basket in his last two games against Jacksonville), and made a pair of clutch free throws to extend the Bear lead to three.
If any of the better than 3,000 in attendance could not predict who from Jacksonville was going to have the ball in his hands in the waning seconds, they would have had to have spent the entire game on the their cell phone or munching on snacks. Of course Ben Smith would be taking the shot that could have extended Jacksonville's run in the Championship for at least the five minutes of overtime, and possibly for another day. As he rose up to fire his final bullet, the crowd feared he would deflate an arena primed for an explosion. Alas, his try at the tie did not reach the rim as Florence closed from behind to block the shot - only his 34th block in 118 games in a Bear uniform. Smith could not get another chance as Tevin Galvin misfired of the Dolphins' last try and Mercer secured the rebound, setting off the second wild celebration in as many nights.
Smith will forever hold the series edge, winning seven of the 10 times the two shared the collegiate hardwood. However, Florence has a chance at holding the ultimate trump card, a spot in the NCAA Tournament - something not experienced by Mercer within the lifespan of anyone of the current roster. Sam Mitchell, whose scoring record at Mercer Florence broke during the season, last led the Bears to the NCAAs, back in 1985.
While Florence put up the gaudier numbers (Mercer's all-time leading scorer, second in A-Sun history), Smith's teams enjoyed more team success (two regular-season titles) but in the final minutes of their final showdown, Florence stated his case for top guard as he drilled a 3-point try from the top of the key (his first basket in his last two games against Jacksonville), and made a pair of clutch free throws to extend the Bear lead to three.
If any of the better than 3,000 in attendance could not predict who from Jacksonville was going to have the ball in his hands in the waning seconds, they would have had to have spent the entire game on the their cell phone or munching on snacks. Of course Ben Smith would be taking the shot that could have extended Jacksonville's run in the Championship for at least the five minutes of overtime, and possibly for another day. As he rose up to fire his final bullet, the crowd feared he would deflate an arena primed for an explosion. Alas, his try at the tie did not reach the rim as Florence closed from behind to block the shot - only his 34th block in 118 games in a Bear uniform. Smith could not get another chance as Tevin Galvin misfired of the Dolphins' last try and Mercer secured the rebound, setting off the second wild celebration in as many nights.
Smith will forever hold the series edge, winning seven of the 10 times the two shared the collegiate hardwood. However, Florence has a chance at holding the ultimate trump card, a spot in the NCAA Tournament - something not experienced by Mercer within the lifespan of anyone of the current roster. Sam Mitchell, whose scoring record at Mercer Florence broke during the season, last led the Bears to the NCAAs, back in 1985.
Friday, March 5, 2010
ETSU's Run to Final Hardly Unlikely
A fifth-seeded team winning a close game in the final minute of a semifinal match-up has Cinderella story written all over it. At the least, some might call ETSU’s run into its third straight final unlikely.
Not hardly.
The Bucs finished the season one game behind the A-Sun’s unprecedented quartet of regular season champions and could reflect on a two-point loss to Stetson and a one-point overtime setback versus Lipscomb, both at home. Additionally, ETSU has beaten three of the four co-champs during the season as well as collecting notable non-conference wins over Arkansas and College of Charleston.
So, now that ETSU has dispatched one co-champion and two others did not make it out of the quarterfinals, the Bucs are in position to become just the sixth team in league history to win consecutive tourney titles.
And if their opponent is favored in the title game, it won’t be by much. This week, ETSU claims two of the best players in the conference. Micah Williams is averaging 26.0 points per game in the championship while Tommy Hubbard continues to provide defense and leadership while contributing to the offensive production.
The Bucs look to provide a happy ending for the league’s most fervent fan base.
Macon needs to start preparing for a Buccaneer invasion tomorrow.
Has the Bucs run to the finals surprised you?
Not hardly.
The Bucs finished the season one game behind the A-Sun’s unprecedented quartet of regular season champions and could reflect on a two-point loss to Stetson and a one-point overtime setback versus Lipscomb, both at home. Additionally, ETSU has beaten three of the four co-champs during the season as well as collecting notable non-conference wins over Arkansas and College of Charleston.
So, now that ETSU has dispatched one co-champion and two others did not make it out of the quarterfinals, the Bucs are in position to become just the sixth team in league history to win consecutive tourney titles.
And if their opponent is favored in the title game, it won’t be by much. This week, ETSU claims two of the best players in the conference. Micah Williams is averaging 26.0 points per game in the championship while Tommy Hubbard continues to provide defense and leadership while contributing to the offensive production.
The Bucs look to provide a happy ending for the league’s most fervent fan base.
Macon needs to start preparing for a Buccaneer invasion tomorrow.
Has the Bucs run to the finals surprised you?
From “Make Macon” to “Macon Noise”
After completing the sometimes grueling, sometimes grinding, sometimes trying four-year transition period into Division I, the UNF women’s team entered the season with a slogan – “Make Macon” – in reference to the location for this year’s General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships and after a regular season that included an upset of FGCU late in the year, the Ospreys achieved their mission, and made Macon.
Upon arrival, their appearance was thought to be a quick one. They entered as the seventh seed - a seed that had never won a game in the A-Sun Championships – and they drew the host, Mercer, in the quarterfinals – a team that swept the regular-season meetings.
After dismissing the hosting Bears with suffocating defense on Wednesday afternoon, the Ospreys matched that intensity with an equally impressive effort in eliminating their crosstown rival, Jacksonville, to advance to Saturday’s title game.
“In the preseason coach told us that [M2] that was our slogan for the year,” guard Juliemay Syquio said. “M2 is ‘Make Macon’ and we made it. Now our slogan is ‘Why Not Us?’ The whole conference tournament we have been the underdog and now our new slogan needs to say ‘Stay True to the Blue’ because sticking to defense has been in our favor the whole tournament.”
For a team offering up as many fresh slogans as the latest snack trend, the Ospreys have sold their product the old-fashioned way – with on court performance. You like defense? How’s holding Mercer and Jacksonville to a combined 5-for-38 from beyond the 3-point arc and 30-for-119 (a 25.2 percent clip) suit you?
If beating the tournament host and biggest rival weren’t enough, the reward awaiting the Ospreys is the conference heavyweight and two-time defending conference champion, ETSU. The Ospreys held a late second-half lead on the Lady Buccaneers when the two met in Jacksonville on Feb. 25
“We had them at our house and we had them down seven and didn’t handle it, their experience just took over,” UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. “It’s going to be a battle of wills tomorrow. We are absolutely the underdog, so the ‘Why Not Us’ factor really plays into it…I like being [the seventh seed]. If there is pressure on a team it’s probably on ETSU. We are in the championship game so we will roll it out tomorrow and see what happens.”
What's your all-time favorite Cinderella moment?
Upon arrival, their appearance was thought to be a quick one. They entered as the seventh seed - a seed that had never won a game in the A-Sun Championships – and they drew the host, Mercer, in the quarterfinals – a team that swept the regular-season meetings.
After dismissing the hosting Bears with suffocating defense on Wednesday afternoon, the Ospreys matched that intensity with an equally impressive effort in eliminating their crosstown rival, Jacksonville, to advance to Saturday’s title game.
“In the preseason coach told us that [M2] that was our slogan for the year,” guard Juliemay Syquio said. “M2 is ‘Make Macon’ and we made it. Now our slogan is ‘Why Not Us?’ The whole conference tournament we have been the underdog and now our new slogan needs to say ‘Stay True to the Blue’ because sticking to defense has been in our favor the whole tournament.”
For a team offering up as many fresh slogans as the latest snack trend, the Ospreys have sold their product the old-fashioned way – with on court performance. You like defense? How’s holding Mercer and Jacksonville to a combined 5-for-38 from beyond the 3-point arc and 30-for-119 (a 25.2 percent clip) suit you?
If beating the tournament host and biggest rival weren’t enough, the reward awaiting the Ospreys is the conference heavyweight and two-time defending conference champion, ETSU. The Ospreys held a late second-half lead on the Lady Buccaneers when the two met in Jacksonville on Feb. 25
“We had them at our house and we had them down seven and didn’t handle it, their experience just took over,” UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. “It’s going to be a battle of wills tomorrow. We are absolutely the underdog, so the ‘Why Not Us’ factor really plays into it…I like being [the seventh seed]. If there is pressure on a team it’s probably on ETSU. We are in the championship game so we will roll it out tomorrow and see what happens.”
What's your all-time favorite Cinderella moment?
Evans Looks to Cap Career with Historic Three-Peat
Even when the Lady Bucs struggle recently in A-Sun Championship play, struggle is defined loosely.
After sprinting out to an 11-0 lead against Belmont in the team’s semifinal game on Friday, the Bruins clawed their way back into the contest and held a 29-28 advantage in the closing seconds.
About that time, the ball found its way into the hands of Siarre Evans as it has so often the last four years. The versatile forward sprinted down the floor and hit a shot just before the buzzer to give the Lady Bucs a one-point advantage despite one of the team’s worst offensive halves of the season. ETSU would go on to win 77-63.
The first half was a microcosm of Evans’ career. She accounted for 16 of the ETSU’s 30 first half points and took the air out of Belmont’s spirited effort with the shot at the end of the half. That was what the Lady Bucs needed today, and she delivered.
This tournament has already been a special run for Evans. Her hometown of Griffin, Ga., is a short drive down I-75 from the University Center. She entered the championship as the 2010 A-Sun Player of the Year plus she has played in front of several friends and family including her former high school coach the last two games. More folks are expected to make the drive down tomorrow as Evans looks to help deliver ETSU’s third straight title.
No matter what happens in Saturday’s final, Evans will go down as one of the top players in A-Sun history, racking up award after award and reaching the title game in each of her four seasons.
Who do you think is the best women's basketball player in A-Sun history?
After sprinting out to an 11-0 lead against Belmont in the team’s semifinal game on Friday, the Bruins clawed their way back into the contest and held a 29-28 advantage in the closing seconds.
About that time, the ball found its way into the hands of Siarre Evans as it has so often the last four years. The versatile forward sprinted down the floor and hit a shot just before the buzzer to give the Lady Bucs a one-point advantage despite one of the team’s worst offensive halves of the season. ETSU would go on to win 77-63.
The first half was a microcosm of Evans’ career. She accounted for 16 of the ETSU’s 30 first half points and took the air out of Belmont’s spirited effort with the shot at the end of the half. That was what the Lady Bucs needed today, and she delivered.
This tournament has already been a special run for Evans. Her hometown of Griffin, Ga., is a short drive down I-75 from the University Center. She entered the championship as the 2010 A-Sun Player of the Year plus she has played in front of several friends and family including her former high school coach the last two games. More folks are expected to make the drive down tomorrow as Evans looks to help deliver ETSU’s third straight title.
No matter what happens in Saturday’s final, Evans will go down as one of the top players in A-Sun history, racking up award after award and reaching the title game in each of her four seasons.
Who do you think is the best women's basketball player in A-Sun history?
Mercer Rides Home Support into Semifinals
An event 32 years in the making, Mercer’s men’s basketball team played an Atlantic Sun Championship game on its home floor finally arrived on Thursday. And after years of anticipation (and waiting through seven men’s and women’s quarterfinals), they took the floor against the conference’s gold standard,
Like many classic Belmont teams, they struck early from deep, hitting their first five 3-point field goals and opened up a 26-12 margin on the home team. But the Bears, led by its two wounded seniors, James Florence (sprained ankle) and Daniel Emerson (eye injury – suffered against
The Bears responded with a 3-point barrage of their own, making eight in the first half and pulled to within six at the break.
As a side effect of Thursday’s game being a tournament game and Mercer being tabbed as the visiting team, the student section and the band moved from its traditional spot of the closed end to the open end, right in front of Bears’ bench meaning the team played in front of its loudest fans as they made their run.”
“I think they should do that more often, I really enjoyed it,” head coach Bob Hoffman said. “Often times you think that you place the students near the other team to try and heckle them, but I thought that our team really fed off of our student section tonight.”
Emerson, who set a school record for rebounds in a single season with 357, echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“I really enjoyed having the [student section] near us tonight. It might not have been the largest crowd we have ever had here, but it was definitely the loudest. We just want to thank all of our fans for coming out tonight we really fed off of them.”
While the crowd played its role sixth man to perfection, it was Mercer’s starting five (responsible for 71 of the Bears 87 points – led by
Thursday, March 4, 2010
JU Sets Stage for River City Rubber Match
Sixth-seeded Jacksonville harassed, annoyed and pestered No. 3 Campbell from the tip to pull off the second upset of the women’s draw in the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championship.
The Dolphins took a page from the defensive formula that intra-city rival and No. 7 UNF used a night earlier to set the stage for a rare No. 6 versus No. 7 semifinal match-up. Coach Jill Dunn’s team limited to just 30 percent shooting from the floor and forced 23 turnovers in the win.
While the defense stands out to some, the play of Gigi Thomas carried the Dolphins offensively. The junior went 10-of-19 from the floor to score a game-high 23 points, nearly half the team’s point production.
In UNF’s first year eligible for postseason play, the A-Sun has exactly what they were looking for … a head-to-head contest between the intra-city rivals with high stakes in tournament play.
The two squads split the regular season match-up with each winning on their home floor. Thomas carries extra motivation into the contest as she broke her nose and suffered a concussion in the first meeting and sat out JU’s loss at UNF
Now, bragging rights will be won in the tournament, as best said by Dunn.
“We are looking forward to [facing UNF],” she said. “There is only one team from Jacksonville that can be here after tomorrow and our goal is to be that team.”
Who do you think wins tomorrow's River City Rumble?
The Dolphins took a page from the defensive formula that intra-city rival and No. 7 UNF used a night earlier to set the stage for a rare No. 6 versus No. 7 semifinal match-up. Coach Jill Dunn’s team limited to just 30 percent shooting from the floor and forced 23 turnovers in the win.
While the defense stands out to some, the play of Gigi Thomas carried the Dolphins offensively. The junior went 10-of-19 from the floor to score a game-high 23 points, nearly half the team’s point production.
In UNF’s first year eligible for postseason play, the A-Sun has exactly what they were looking for … a head-to-head contest between the intra-city rivals with high stakes in tournament play.
The two squads split the regular season match-up with each winning on their home floor. Thomas carries extra motivation into the contest as she broke her nose and suffered a concussion in the first meeting and sat out JU’s loss at UNF
Now, bragging rights will be won in the tournament, as best said by Dunn.
“We are looking forward to [facing UNF],” she said. “There is only one team from Jacksonville that can be here after tomorrow and our goal is to be that team.”
Who do you think wins tomorrow's River City Rumble?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
