Photo By: Scot Wolverton

By Keldon Irwin

UC Riverside began the second half much more gathered and prepared than they started the first half, keeping pace with Texas State’s scoring and even recovering some lost ground.

By 13:10 in the second half, the Highlanders had narrowed their deficit to 57-49.

However, as sloppy play, fouls and animosity seemed to swell, the scoreboard read 65-51 Texas State by 9:20.

While the score did not always clearly show it, the game was mostly dominated by Texas State.

At 6:08, Chris Harriel of UC Riverside fouled Ray Dorsey of Texas State. This was Harriel’s fifth and final personal penalty, fouling him out of the game. Losing Harriel was big for the Highlanders because he led the team in both points and assists with 15 and five.

With only five minutes left in the game, the Bobcats held a 74-57 lead – a lead they held the entire game.

The Bobcats’ scoring damage was done by Corey Stern (17), Matt Staff (16) and Reid Koenen (12). Vonn Jones also pitched in 10 points and seven assists.

The Highlanders exercised a very controlled aggression in the last few minutes of the game, but their efforts were fruitless as the game ended 81-69 Texas State.

Photo By: Scot Wolverton

By Keldon Irwin

Outscored 5-0 in the first minute of play, the University of California Riverside Highlanders called a timeout at 18:57.

With Riverside’s deficit increasing to 10-2 by 17:11, Riverside called yet another timeout. The Highlanders’ coach’s stern and obviously upset voice echoed throughout the stadium.

Reid Koenen of Texas State drove the ball to the basket from half court and was shoved to the ground shooting a layup. After making the extra point shot, UC Riverside committed yet another foul.

Following this, an official timeout was then called – the third in four minutes.

By 14:28 in the first half, the Bobcats led 20-2.

By 5:15, the Highlanders had reduced Texas State’s lead to 38-16.

The Bobcats made 18 of 30 field goals, whereas the Highlanders only made 13 of their 30 attempted shots.

Reid Koenen of Texas State was the lead scorer of the first half with 12 points, playing the most vital role in the Bobcats going into half with a 47-35 lead.

The Bobcats have positioned themselves well for the last twenty minutes of basketball. Now let’s see if they can keep it going and finish the job.

Photo By: Scot Wolverton

By Mark Hoffman

The Charlotte 49ers had their way with the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, winning handily in the final contest of Friday evening’s semifinal championship session.

Charlotte competed with an incredibly impressive, balanced offensive attack. The 49ers got 13 points from junior guard DeMario Mayfield and 11 points and six rebounds from senior center Chris Braswell but had seven players score six or more points.

The 49ers play could be summed up by the performance of all-purpose guard Pierria Henry, who totaled seven points, seven assists, and five steals while handling the ball regularly on offense and locking up Oral Roberts’ best perimeter players on defense.

With most of the Sullivan Arena crowd on hand to see him, the evening ended in disappointment for Oral Roberts’ Alaskan-grown big man, Damien Bell-Holter. Frustrated most of the game by the depth of athletes that Charlotte threw at him, the Hydaburg-raised center eventually fouled out with 6:40 remaining, finishing with seven points and thirteen rebounds.

The rest of his Oral Roberts team shared the frustration. Golden Eagles head coach Scott Sutton was whistled for a technical foul with 12 minutes left in the second half for arguing over calls, or the lack-thereof, for his players.

Oral Roberts was led by 18 points and six rebounds from forward Shawn Glover and 15 points and seven boards from guard Warren Niles.

The 49ers advance to the Shootout championship game tomorrow against Northeastern University at 8:30 p.m. and the Golden Eagles will play Belmont in the third-place game at 6 p.m.

Photo By: Scot Wolverton

By Mark Hoffman

The Charlotte 49ers jumped out to a quick 17-7 start in the final contest of Friday’s evening session at the Great Alaska Shootout but Oral Roberts has rallied to keep it close and currently Charlotte holds a 32-23 lead at halftime.

A very hard-fought contest to this point, the game has featured a battle amongst the big men and both teams have felt the effect of the physical play on their offensive production.

Charlotte’s senior forward Chris Braswell dominated the post play in the early-going, registering eight points and five rebounds, while mostly holding Alaskan-grown Oral Roberts center Damen Bell-Holter in check, who has just one point but nine rebounds in the first half.

A balanced scoring attack by Charlotte was led by Braswell’s eight points and seven other players contributing baskets.  Oral Roberts has been paced by a nine-point effort from senior guard Warren Niles, who is coming off of a 33-point performance in his prior Shootout contest.

Oral Roberts will have to find rhythm at the offensive end in the second half to stay in this game. If they can’t find an answer for the spread scoring attack of the 49ers, their shot at the Shootout crown could fade away.

Photo By: Mackenzie Masson

By Mark Hoffman

In a game that lived up to the tournament’s Shootout title, the Northeastern Huskies edged the Belmont Bruins in dramatic fashion, 74-71, in the opening game of Friday evening’s championship session at the Great Alaska Shootout.

Belmont’s shooting guard Ian Clark and Northeastern’s point guard Joel Smith took turns from three-point range, as Clark hit on 9-for-11 from the arc, finishing with a game-high 29 points, and Smith landed 6-for-9 from three and scored 26 for the Huskies. At the end of the contest, Smith’s leadership would propel Northeastern to the come-from-behind victory.

Belmont opened the game on a 19-4 run, fueled by careless turnovers by the Huskies, resulting in three of Clark’s long distance baskets. The Bruins were 6 of 11 from the arc as a team in the first half but Northeastern would not be intimidated. The Huskies regrouped from the early run during a timeout and fought back to a 35-32 deficit headed into the half.

Clark would continue his hot shooting in the second half, as the Bruins built a double-digit lead. But it was Smith and a focused Huskies team who would get the last laugh. After trailing for the duration of the contest, Northeastern was finally able to fight back and tie the game at 65-65 with just under four minutes remaining. Then, after exchanging stops and baskets for the next two minutes, freshman guard David Walker stroked a go-ahead three for the Huskies, giving them their first lead of the game, 70-68, with 54 seconds remaining.

After a Belmont miss and two Smith free throws, Clark gave the crowd one last thrill, nailing a three from the top of the key with just 14.8 seconds left, bringing the Bruins within one, 72-71. But on the ensuing inbounds pass, Clark fouled out and Smith nailed two more free throws to put Northeastern up by three. A desperation game-tying three from Belmont guard Kerron Johnson fell short on the next possession and, despite a pair of missed free throws by Northeastern, Belmont was not able to get a decent look at a shot before the buzzer.

Smith finished the game with 26 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Huskies. Freshman Zach Stahl contributed 13 points and Quincy Ford added 11 and five boards. Senior forward Trevor Noack had 11 points and six rebounds for Belmont and Blake Jenkins added 10 points and seven boards.

Northeastern will move on to play in the championship game tomorrow night against the winner of Oral Roberts-Charlotte at 8:30 p.m. and Belmont will play the loser of the same game for third place at 6 p.m.

Check out highlights of the second half.

Photo By: Mackenzie Masson

By Mark Hoffman

The Northeastern Huskies matched an early onslaught from three-point land by the Belmont Bruins in the first half of Friday evening’s semifinal game at the Great Alaska Shootout and the Bruins have taken a 35-32 lead into the halftime break.

Belmont was riding the hot shooting hand of senior guard Ian Clark in the early going.  Clark was 3 of 4 in the first half from three-point land and had nine points to lead the Bruins. Belmont was fundamentally sound early and jumped on some careless Northeastern turnovers to open the game on a 19-4 run.

Not to be outdone by Clark, Northeastern’s senior guard and leading scorer, Joel Smith, calmly went 3 of 3 from three-point country, scoring 12 for the half. Sophomore forward Reggie Spencer established a presence in the paint with eight points and five rebounds in the latter part of the half, sparking the consistent play that allowed the Huskies to close the gap before the half.

Northeastern will need to take better care of the ball in the second half against an experienced Belmont defense and continue to score in the paint if they want to make a run in the second half.  The Bruins are running the risk of living and dying by the three ball if they can’t find production elsewhere.

Check out highlights of the first half.