4 CCC Teams Will Try to Keep NAIA D-II Men's Championship Trophy in the Pacific Northwest

3/9/2009 8:30:24 AM

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POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- For the past year, the NAIA Division II men's basketball trophy has resided in the Pacific Northwest, thanks to the 2007-08 Oregon Tech squad which captured its second title in five years last March.

Beginning Wednesday here on the campus of College of the Ozarks, 32 teams -- including four from the Cascade Collegiate Conference -- continue their quest to claim the top prize for 2008-09.

OIT's Hustlin' Owls are looking to become the first repeat champion since Bethel (Ind.) won back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998. Three other CCC teams -- Evergreen, Eastern Oregon and Warner Pacific -- will be aiming for their first national title as they try to keep the championship trophy in the Pacific Northwest.

Action involving CCC teams gets underway Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. PT as Evergreen, making its second-ever tournament appearance, faces 11th-seeded Bluefield (Va.). Bluefield comes in with the nation's highest scoring average at 91.5 points per game. Evergreen ranks 11th nationally in scoring at 84.5 points per game. The Geoducks are led by Nathan Menefee, the CCC's Player of the Year whose 24.4 scoring average ranks No. 2 nationally.

Later Wednesday, at 7:45 p.m., defending national champion OIT begins defense of its title when it faces unseeded Iowa Wesleyan (27-6). The Hustlin' Owls are seeded seventh in the tournament.

On Thursday, 13-seeded Warner Pacific will square off against unseeded Grace (Ind.) at 11:45 a.m. WPC is making its fourth consecutive national tournament appearance. At 2 p.m. PT, ninth-seeded Eastern Oregon will take on unseeded King (Tenn.). EOU is making it second straight appearance in the tournament.

A preview of first-round matchups involving CCC teams:

Evergreen (19-11) vs. Bluefield, Va. (27-6), Wednesday 11:45 a.m. PT
The No. 23-ranked Geoducks earned the second of the CCC’s two automatic bids by finishing runner-up to regular season co-champion OIT in the CCC Tournament … this is Evergreen’s second NAIA tournament appearance (and first since the 2001-02 season) … Geoduck coach Jeff Drinkwine is 40-19 in his two seasons as head coach … Evergreen is led by CCC MVP Nathan Menefee, a 5-11 guard who ranks No. 2 nationally in scoring (24.4 ppg) … Menefee was joined on the All-CCC team by senior forward Nick Moore, who averages 16.0 ppg and 5.2 rpg … Wednesday’s matchup will pit two of the
NAIA’s highest scoring teams; Bluefield averages a national-best 91.5 ppg, Evergreen ranks 11th (84.5 ppg) … No. 8-ranked Bluefield, which won the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular season crown with an 18-0 mark, had a 20-game win streak stopped in the AAC Tournament title game, losing
86-85 to King College …Bluefield had three players on the All-AAC first team, including MVP guard Curtis Dixon (18.0 ppg) and forward Omar Reed (9.7 rpg) … Johnny Witherspoon was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year … Bluefield College is located in Bluefield, Va.

Oregon Tech (28-5) vs. Iowa Wesleyan (20-10), Wednesday, 7:45 p.m. PT
The No. 7-ranked Hustlin’ Owls are the defending NAIA Division II champion … OIT shared the CCC regular season title with Eastern Oregon and captured the CCC Tournament title for the first time since the 2005-06 season … OIT is making its 11th NAIA Division II tournament appearance, all under veteran head coach Danny Miles (875 career wins) … the Owls have the most wins (25-8) of any program in the NAIA Division II tournament … OIT won NAIA Division II titles in 2004 and 2008 … the Hustlin’ Owls are led by the guard combo of senior Jguwon Hogges (18.9 ppg) and Justin Parnell (15.5 ppg) … Christian Cavanaugh ranks No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage (.681) … OIT was ranked No. 1 nationally for the first five polls of the season … Iowa Wesleyan (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa), ranked No. 25, is led by Midwest Collegiate Conference MVP Brett Humpal, a senior forward who leads the team in scoring (20.1 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg) and assists (4.7 apg) … Humpal is a two-time second team All-American … Iowa Wesleyan finished tied for second in the MCC’s regular season (13-3) and earned an automatic bid to the national tournament by winning the MCC Tournament.

Warner Pacific (21-8) vs. Grace, Ind. (20-10), Thursday, 11:45 a.m. PT
The No. 15-ranked Knights are making their fourth consecutive NAIA D-II appearance, all under head coach Bart Valentine … WPC earned an at-large bid to the national tourney after finishing third in the CCC’s regular season standings … WPC is led by the CCC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Kaylone Riley, who leads the nation in blocked shots, and high-scoring forward Adam Moore (20.7 ppg) … as a team, Warner Pacific ranks second nationally in blocked shots … Riley is among the nation’s leaders in double doubles, with 14 … Thursday’s game will match two of the nation’s best big men, as Grace College features Eric Gaff, who leads the nation in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and is 11th nationally in scoring (21.0 ppg) … Grace finished third in the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference (11-5) and suffered a first-round loss in the conference tournament … Grace (Winona Lake, Ind.) ranks fifth nationally in rebound margin and 10th nationally in assists … Jim Kessler was named Coach of the Year in the Mid-Central this season … Grace went 26-10 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NAIA D-II tournament last season.

Eastern Oregon (23-7) vs. King, Tenn. (24-7), Thursday, 2 p.m. PT
The Mountaineers, regular season CCC co-champions, are making their second-ever national postseason appearance following their debut in the NAIA Tournament a year ago … the Mounties were selected as an at-large entrant and seeded ninth in the tourney … 10th-ranked EOU is led by a league-high three first-team All-CCC players – guard Kris Groce (15.1 ppg), wing Neil Fryer (14.3 ppg) and post Paul Carollo (10.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg) … after opening the CCC season with a 2-4 record, EOU won 13 of its last 14 regular season contests to share the CCC title with Oregon Tech (15-5 records) … head coach Ryan Looney has led EOU to back-to-back CCC regular season crowns … No. 23-ranked King College, located in Bristol, Tenn., earned an automatic bid by coming from 16 points down in the championship game of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament title game to defeat Bluefield (Va.) 86-85 … Mark Dockery was named tourney MVP after averaging 15 ppg … Kyle Savely ranks No. 2 nationally in assists per game (7.1) and 10th nationally in points per game (21.1) … Savely was a first team All-AAC and All-Defensive team selection.

Pre-Tournament Quotes from CCC Head Coaches:

Jeff Drinkwine, Evergreen:
“It is exciting for us to be in the national tournament. One of the team goals was to get there. It is a great reward for our team for all the work it put in over the course of the year. We are looking forward to the challenge.

“Our first-round opponent appears to be similar in terms of the pace they want to play. They lead the nation in scoring and are third in 3-pointers made per game. That is a concern of ours; we will need to find a way to slow them down, and contest their deep shot attempts. It is a tough draw but when you get to this stage, all teams are going to present a challenge. We as a team want to go out and compete, play hard and represent the school and conference well. We want to show everyone what a quality conference we have with our competitive play.

“A key to our success will be our veteran leadership; we have battled against some of the nation’s best this season in our own conference, so I believe we will be prepared. We also believe we will have to force teams to play our style in order to have continued success.

“The field looks very competitive, as it should. The teams that are in the tourney are all certainly deserving. It will be a fun tourney to be part of.”

Bart Valentine, Warner Pacific:
“We are very excited to be participating in the national tournament for the fourth year in a row. We have a very tough draw in Grace College out of Indiana. Grace has a strong tournament tradition, having won a national championship in the ‘90s, and being one of those programs that are often at the tournament. This year they are led by the best big man in the country at our level. Eric Gaff is a 6-10 All-American candidate who leads the nation in rebounding and averages 21 points per game. It should be a classic matchup with Kaylone Riley, who leads the country in block shots and is in the top five in rebounding. This matchup also pits the two best conferences in the nation. The Mid-Central Collegiate Conference has the best overall record in the nation at the national tournament, followed closely by the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

“All four Cascade Collegiate Conference teams should make a good showing, but there are many good teams when you get to nationals. The national title now resides in our conference at Klamath Falls, and our four teams will be trying to keep it right here in the Northwest.”

Danny Miles, Oregon Tech:
“We are very excited to be back in the national tournament. Our expectations are that we will play hard and together. Defense and rebounding will be keys for us. It is a very strong field this year; there are 30 teams that could win at least one game. Iowa Wesleyan, our first-round opponent, has won 12 of its last 13 games. They can really shoot the 3, and 6-4 Brett Humpal is a bonafide All-American.”

Ryan Looney, Eastern Oregon:
"We are excited to make another trip to the NAIA national tournament. Hopefully we can represent our conference well.

"Our team is more prepared the second time around. We feel like we learned a lot from last year's experience.

"King College will be a very competitive first-round opponent. They have an NCAA Division I transfer point guard. He has the ball in his hands a lot and has made a ton of plays for himself and his teammates."