Thomas Steps Out of the Shadows for Mercer

Mercer's Bud Thomas (5) came up big for the Bears on Friday.

By DANIEL SHIRLEY
@DM_Shirley

With the balanced scoring attack that is one of the keys for the Mercer Bears’ success this season, junior Bud Thomas can sometimes get lost in the shuffle.

He made sure that didn’t happen Friday night with a strong performance in the semifinals of the 2013 General Shale A-Sun Basketball Championships.

Thomas, who is the team’s fifth-leading scorer, finished with a game-high 20 points. His effort included several key plays down the stretch, as the Bears held off a determined USC Upstate squad for a 72-64 win at Hawkins Arena.

The Bears (23-10) will play either Florida Gulf Coast or Stetson in the championship game, and head coach Bob Hoffman knows his team wouldn’t get that chance without Thomas, who scored more than 15 points in a game just twice before Friday.

“He has fought through a lot of adversity, and he’s a special player,” said Hoffman, who fought back tears while describing Thomas. “Because of the way we play, he doesn’t get all the recognition that he should get because we play together. He should get awards and things like that. He gets more deflections and more steals than anyone I’ve ever seen.

“And they all go at him because they think they can get him, but they can’t get it done because he knows how to play the game at high level. His IQ is unbelievable.”

Thomas had many important plays Friday, but the biggest might have come with his team leading by six with less than a minute to play. Thomas came up with a steal and broke away for a layup, was fouled and made the foul shot. That sequence gave the Bears a 68-59 lead and all but sealed the victory as the Mercer fans roared with their approval.

“When you make a good play, and you know that whole building erupts, you know that’s a special feeling,” Thomas said. “You kind of dream of that as a kid. Doing something to fire a whole lot of people up and seeing my teammates going crazy, it’s a great feeling. I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to get the win, and that’s what’s most important.”

Thomas was 8-of-11 from the floor and hit 3-of-6 shots from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds, three assists and the one steal and several more key defensive plays.

His performance helped the Bears avoid a similar fate to last year when they lost at home to Florida Gulf Coast in the tournament semifinals.

“I wasn’t even thinking about (last year),” said Langston Hall, who also had a big game with 18 points, including five 3-pointers. “We just had to find a way to pull it out, and Bud made some great plays at the end.”

 Travis Smith, the team’s leading scorer during the regular season, finished with 15 points. It was Thomas, however, who seemed to come up with big play after big play. His head coach and fellow junior Hall weren’t surprised.

“I have the same mindset going into every game where I’m going to pick my spots, and I’m not going to shoot any bad shots,” Thomas said. “Any time I see the opportunity to make something happen, I’m going to do that. It just so happens that tonight a couple of things went my way, and I was fortunate to get some open looks and knock them down.

“It’s tough to hard ‘Lang’ and ‘Trav,’ and a lot of times the other teams key on them and lose sight of me, and I get some open looks. I’m not going to go out there and force plays. I’m not that kind of player.”

But he’s certainly a player Hoffman, Hall and the other Mercer players appreciate.

Bria’s Special Group Leads Hatters Back to Championship Game

Senior Victoria McGowan is playing in her third straight A-Sun Championship final.

By DANIEL SHIRLEY
@DM_Shirley

After the past couple of games at Hawkins Arena, the Stetson Hatters players have joked a bit about their head coach being a little unpleasant during games and practices. Well, maybe not just a little unpleasant.

That’s fine, Stetson head coach Lynn Bria insists. In fact, she agrees.

Bring up the senior class to Bria however, even after a win, and she gets a little emotional and shows her softer side.

“Wow, it’s hard, I can’t even talk about it,” Bria said after her team’s win over Mercer on Friday in the 2013 General Shale A-Sun Basketball Championships semifinals. “I don’t want to talk about that. I can’t. I can’t talk about them because I love them. As unpleasant as I am, I love them.”

There was plenty to love about the Hatters’ performance in their 67-52 win over the Bears that places them in the championship final for the third straight year.

A lot of that had to do with seniors Shanasa Sanders and Victoria McGowan, and junior Sasha Sims. Sims led the way with 19 points, while Sanders had 17, and McGowan had 12.

McGowan, who dominated the offense last year out of necessity, added 11 rebounds and five assists.

“It was a little more pleasant this time (at halftime than during the team’s first-round game),” Bria said. “But really, I’m not that pleasant any time.”

The Hatters’ veteran group likely will need to be strong again Saturday in the championship final against Florida Gulf Coast if Stetson is going win its second conference tournament title in three years. Stetson won the tournament two years ago but lost last year in the finals to FGCU. The Hatters have lost all five meetings with the Eagles over the past two seasons.

“Every team is different,” Bria said. “This group here, they’re a year older and more mature. I feel like we’re a better team than we were last year. I feel like we share the ball more. Last year, we were the Victoria McGowan show, and the offense we ran was just that. She had the ball 90 percent of the time, and she shot the ball. But she was supposed to; she did what I asked her to do.

“This year’s team, we share the ball more. I have asked her to pass more and get her teammates open, where more people touch the ball.”

That game plan has paid off with a 23-8 record, the 23 wins tying the program record for wins in a season. One more win Saturday would break that record and send the Hatters back to the NCAA tournament.

“It’s much more special because I’m a senior, and tomorrow we’re going to come out and try to win that championship,” Sanders said.

That would be a perfect way for the members of this senior class to close out their career.

“I think it’s very special because we started a tradition, and we want to finish it out, especially the seniors,” McGowan said. “I think they’re a great team, but we have confidence in ourselves. We’re not going to lay down and die and let them walk all over us. We’re going to come out and play hard and play a good game.”

FGCU Women Make Their Bid for the NCAA Tournament

By DANIEL SHIRLEY
@DM_Shirley

The Florida Golf Coast women’s basketball team needs one more win to clinch its second straight General Shale A-Sun Basketball Championship title.

With that comes an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament that goes along with the conference championship title.

Even if the Eagles were upset in the championship game Saturday, they have done enough to earn consideration for an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament. Their strong play continued Friday with a 73-44 win over North Florida in the semifinals.

The Eagles will face either Mercer or Stetson in the championship game at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

“The first half was excellent. I was a little surprised, because our shoot around this morning was a little sloppy,” Florida Gulf Coast Head Coach Karl Smesko said. “We didn’t have a lot of energy that I would like. But we came out in the first half with a lot of emotion and made a lot of plays early.

“The last game, people were like, ‘Oh you look … it wasn’t as good, it wasn’t the greatest effort. Is that that the best you can play?’ It’s all day-to-day. We’re just hoping that tomorrow we have a great effort from everyone and a great focus tonight to get prepared.

“If we do as well as we can do, I will feel good about it … if everyone says, yes, we play as a team and we give our best effort.”

The Eagles (27-5) have made a habit out of that in recent years.

Florida Gulf Coast became the first team in A-Sun history to finish undefeated in conference play in regular-season play in consecutive seasons, and it has won 41 straight games against conference competition. The Eagles will carry a 21-game winning streak this season into Saturday’s championship game, and they are 5-0 in their A-Sun tournament history.

But the Eagles haven’t just been strong in conference play. During the regular season, they beat LSU from the SEC and Virginia Tech from the ACC.

And they appear to be putting their best foot forward at the end of the season.

“You have to, or you go home,” senior Brittany Kennedy said. “We’re definitely jelling as a team, and tonight was a great team win. There are still improvements out there, so we have to continue to get better and have a big game tomorrow.”

It would be hard for any team to improve on Florida Gulf Coast’s performance in the first half on Friday.
The Eagles shot 56.3 percent from the floor (18-of-32), including 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range, and led by 20 points against a North Florida team that played them tough during the regular season.

The Ospreys stayed within 11 and six in the two meetings during the season but trailed by as many as 31 in Friday’s game.

Joyce Iamstrong led the way with 22 points, tying a tournament record by shooting 100 percent from the floor – 9-for-9, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Jaime Gluesing added 13, and Kennedy had 12.

As a team the Eagles set a new A-Sun Championship record, knocking down a dozen three-pointers. The previous mark of 11 in a game was set by Jacksonville State against Jacksonville in 2000 and most recently tied by FGCU in the semifinals and the finals of the 2012 Championship.

A-Sun Player of the Year Sarah Hansen had seven but played only 20 minutes, and she contributed seven rebounds, three steals and two assists and played terrific defense in the post.

“We came here to do something, and we’re trying to accomplish it,” Hansen said. “That’s what is in the front of everyone’s mind -- come out and play the game tomorrow and do what we have to do to take care of business.”

Olumuyiwa's Big Night Helps Spartans Into the Semifinals

Babatunde Olumyiwa scored a season high of 11 points as the Spartans advanced.

By DANIEL SHIRLEY

@DM_Shirley

With talented scorers like Torrey Craig and Ty Greene leading the way for the USC Upstate Spartans, it’s sometimes hard for Babatunde Olumuyiwa to get a ton of looks at the basket.

The junior certainly made the most of his opportunities against Jacksonville on Thursday in the first round of the 2013 General Shale A-Sun Basketball Championships.

Olumuyiwa picked the perfect night to record his season high of 11 points, contributing his part of a balanced Spartans scoring attack in the team’s 76-62 win over the Dolphins.

“I did, I did,” Olumuyiwa said. “It wasn’t anything that hasn’t been going on all year. Just tonight we had more to play for. Although throughout the year we had things to play for, tonight it was win or go home.”

The Spartans (16-16) move on to the semifinals, where they face tournament host and top-seeded Mercer at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at the Bears’ Hawkins Arena.

Olumuyiwa usually fills up the stat sheet with blocks and rebounds and adds a little bit of scoring. But Thursday, he was strong offensively while also continuing to handle his other duties. Olumuyiwa made 5-of-7 shots from the floor, and sank 1-of-2 from the foul line.

Olumuyiwa also had five rebounds and three blocked shots to help the Spartans control the game from the start; USC Upstate led by as many as 25 points.

Four other Spartans scored in double figures, as Craig had his usual strong night with 17 points, Greene added 14, Ricardo Glenn had 12 and Adrian Rodgers also had 11.

Olumuyiwa’s career high is 16 points, which he achieved in the 2010-11 season. He also scored 14 in a game last year. But entering Thursday’s game, he had not reached double figures in scoring in any game this season. He averaged 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game entering the championship, while also blocking 71 shots.

“With Torrey and Ty scoring the way they are, everyone has a particular role on the team,” Olumuyiwa said. “Theirs happens to be scoring, while other people happen to be rebounders or floor generals. Everybody is just playing their role.”

The win was the Spartans’ first ever victory at Hawkins Arena, against five losses to Mercer.

“Everybody kind of knew; it was in the back of our minds,” Olumuyiwa said. “But it wasn’t really anything any of us were thinking about.”

The Spartans, however, were aware they were looking for their first A-Sun Championship win after losing to Florida Gulf Coast last year in the first round.

“That was nice,” Olumuyiwa said. “The first one is always the hardest.”

The Spartans quickly have to turn their attention to the Bears, whom they lost to twice during the regular season. Mercer is undefeated at home this season.

“We just have to play the way that we know that we can play,” Olumuyiwa said. “We have to play how we played tonight and stay solid on defense. That’s where our bread and butter is, on defense.

“Throughout the regular season, it didn’t go exactly the way that we wanted it to go. But that season is over. Now it’s a new one, and we can start from scratch.”

UNF's Smith Tuning Up for a Run at a Championship

North Florida's Destinee Smith

By DANIEL SHIRLEY
@DM_Shirley

If the Atlantic Sun Conference is looking for someone to sing the National Anthem before Saturday’s title game of the 2013 General Shale A-Sun Basketball Championships, Destinee Smith likely would oblige.

But only if her North Florida teammates are there with her to play after she is finished.

“I wouldn’t mind that at all,” Smith said with a laugh Thursday. “That would be a lot of fun.”

Smith and her teammates had plenty of fun Thursday with their 50-48 win over USC Upstate in the championship’s first round and advance into the semifinals against top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast.

Smith struggled a bit with her shot, making just 2-of-13 attempts, including 0-of-3 from 3-point range, and finished with four points. But she ran the North Florida offense nicely with five assists.

Smith has shown this season she’s about more than just basketball. Her singing prowess was on display at the team’s home regular-season game against USC Upstate. The performance of the National Anthem before that game reportedly even impressed the Spartans players.

She also keeps the locker room lively with her tunes before and after games.

“I did a little somethin’, somethin’,” Smith said with a huge smile. “Off and on all my life, really, I’ve been able to sing. I come from a long line of singers in my family. It’s just a little hobby I like to do.”

It is a hobby that is much different than basketball, which is based on team concepts. Singing is more of a solo endeavor, although Smith said it helped to have her teammates with her when she sang the National Anthem before the game against USC Upstate earlier in the season.

“Playing basketball is like being out on a stage of your own,” she said. “When I get out there to sing, it’s another passion of mine, so it’s like being on stage, as well. Everything is a little different, though. You just hear yourself when you have the mic, and you just listen to yourself and go with it.

“It is different. It is. But I had my teammates right there with me, and they were egging me on the whole time, so it really felt like a team effort.”

The Ospreys (12-18) will need another strong team effort against the powerful Eagles in Friday’s semifinal. Florida Gulf Coast swept the two regular-season meetings and has won 40 straight games against conference opponents.

“We have a really good chance, especially going up against the No. 1 team,” Smith said. “Something about us, we can fight. We’re fighters. That’s what we do. We have come through a lot of adversity throughout the season, and we thrive on that. That’s what we look for, and that fuels our fire.”

Basketball is what fuels Smith’s fire right now, and she uses singing to balance things out.

“I’ve never really thought about (singing) professionally, but it keeps me grounded,” Smith said.

She’d like another chance to show just how grounded she can be in Saturday’s championship game. And maybe a little performance right before.

First Things First - Stetson's Return to the A-Sun Championship

Stetson men end long drought at A-Sun tournament

By DANIEL SHIRLEY
@DM_Shirley

Stetson head coach Casey Alexander and senior Adam Pegg are undefeated in their careers in the General Shale A-Sun Basketball Championships.

They have the smallest of sample sizes on which to judge their records, but they don’t mind that one bit.

Alexander, Pegg and the Hatters knocked off East Tennessee State 67-46 on Thursday in the first round of the championship at Mercer’s Hawkins Arena. The win was the Hatters’ first in the event since 2006 and they are making their first appearance since 2009.

It was Alexander’s first win as a head coach in the tournament; he is in his second season as the Hatters’ head coach. It was also Pegg’s first A-Sun Championship win after failing to reach the field of eight last year - his first year playing with the team after transferring from Delaware.

“It feels great. There are 10 of us in the league and four of us still playing. I guess there are five, but there will be four after tonight,” Alexander said. “I’m proud of my guys.”

One of the players he is proud of is Pegg.

The senior finished Thursday’s game with 17 points and nine rebounds. Joel Naburgs added 16 points, while Willie Green added a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Stetson dominated in the second half, outscoring ETSU 46-22 after the break.

“It feels really good. It’s my first one of my career,” Pegg said. “So it feels really good to get a win and get to the second round of the tournament. I had confidence in my team, and I expected to get this win, so it feels good.”

The Hatters (15-15) have to quickly turn their attention to the semifinals and a showdown with second-seeded Florida Gulf Coast. The two rivals face off at 8:00 p.m. on Friday after splitting their regular-season meetings.

“I don’t like a whole lot matching up with them,” Alexander said of the Eagles. “They’ve got great talented players, and they are really dynamic in how they play on both ends of the floor. The only way for us to be competitive in the game is for us to perform well and to be really solid on both ends. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one we’re really excited about, and we know they will be ready to play as well, so let’s hope for a good game.”

What a Difference A Year (or Two) Makes for Grant, Mercer

By DANIEL SHIRLEY

@DM_Shirley

Kendra Grant vividly remembers the year her Mercer women’s basketball team won just two games. It’s hard to forget considering it was just two seasons ago.

But the Bears put those memories to rest with a 63-53 win over Jacksonville on Thursday in the first round of the 2013 General Shale A-Sun Basketball Championship. It marked Mercer’s first win in the tournament since 2009.

The Bears, who improved to 20-10 this season, had failed to qualify for the tournament the past two seasons and lost in the first round in 2010.

“It’s just amazing, to come back and bounce back from seasons like that to be where are now and what we’ve been able accomplish,” said Grant, who is a junior. “It just shows you what hard work and playing together can do for a team.”

The Bears improved from two wins in 2010-11 to six wins last year, but they still failed to qualify for the conference championship. There was no doubt they would make it to the championship this year after they rolled off a 13-game winning streak in the middle of the season.

Getting the win on Wednesday, their first since the first round of the 2009 Championship, was another big step forward for the program.

Mercer improved to 9-23 in its conference championship history.

“It’s very exciting,” Grant said. “Coming into today, knowing I would be out there on the floor for a lot of minutes, it was very exciting, and knowing we have a chance to go all the way, that’s great. It’s just a great win for our program for us to move forward.”

Grant played a key role in the victory. She finished with 10 points and had two key baskets, the Bears’ first two of the second half, to give Mercer some breathing room after they led by four at halftime. Grant finished the day shooting 4-of-12 from the floor, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range.

“I got some open looks and got some good screens from my teammates, and they got me some good passes for open looks, and I was just knocking them down,” Grant said. “That was big for us.”

It was also important for Grant to play well in her hometown.

“It’s very special because you know you’re going to have your home crowd and have your family and friends who have been following you and cheering you on,” Grant said. “It’s very exciting that you have that support and that love out in the crowd.”

That crowd got to see a milestone victory for the Mercer program. Thursday’s victory marked the first time since the 1991-92 season that the Bears have won 20 games in a season.

“That’s big,” Grant said. “It definitely will be a memory that I keep with me forever and remember how special this season has been.”

Now Grant and the Bears have to turn their focus to the semifinals. Mercer will play Stetson at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The Hatters defeated the Bears twice during the regular season.

“Well, we just played them recently, so they are fresh on our minds,” Grant said. “We just have to remember what we did well against them and work on the things we didn’t do well and work hard and be ready to play them again.”