Adam MacDonald
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
VALDOSTA — March Madness is in full swing, and one thing that the talking heads on the various sports networks have frequently said is that guard play is the key to tournament success.
The same seems to be true for the Division II basketball tournament, particularly for the Valdosta State Blazers.
Tyrone Curnell has paved the way for the Blazers as a power forward, averaging 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. However, in the South Region tournament, he was held to 12 points by Arkansas Tech in the semifinals, and Rollins held him to four points in the finals.
Basically, the Wonder Boys and Tars double- and triple-teamed Curnell, daring the Blazers’ guards to beat them shooting the ball.
And why not? The Blazers shot poorly the entire month of February, and it continued in the Gulf South Conference tournament against Arkansas Tech.
In a win over West Florida on Feb. 10, the Blazers shot 33 percent in the second half. They followed that game by shooting 37.5 percent in the first half against West Alabama a week later. In a loss at Alabama-Huntsville, the Blazers hit only 6 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc. Arkansas Tech held VSU to a season-low 47 points in a GSC tournament loss.
But something clicked in the South Region tournament. Going into the tournament, Blazers head coach Mike Helfer said that if the Blazers were going to win, they were going to have to hit shots.
They did.
Five Blazers hit 3-pointers in the first round against Clark Atlanta. VSU guards made 14 of 28 shots, and the Blazers shot 59.6 percent from the field, a number they had not seen since January.
The Blazers continued to shoot the eyeballs out of the basketball against Arkansas Tech. VSU shot 50 percent in the first half and 60 percent in the second half. The Blazers hit 10 of 21 3-pointers, including four by Tristan Crawford, who had been quiet since the calendar turned to 2010.
Against Rollins, it was Kevin Harris who delivered the big blow. The Blazers let a 14-point first half lead slip away early in the second half, and Rollins took a one-point lead on a free throw with 12:31 left in the game. Harris quickly dribbled the ball down the court and buried a 3 to put VSU back up. The Blazers never trailed again.
“They sagged on me at the top, and I had in my mind that I was going to shoot it,” Harris said. “Any time I got it in my mind I’m going to shoot it, nine times out of 10, I’m going to make it. They sagged off, and I’m going to make them pay.”
Harris shot 8 of 13 overall, and was 3 for 3 from 3-point range in the South Region tournament. Crawford was 10 for 23 overall and 6 of 13 from 3-point range, Ryan Nelson was 7 of 14 overall and 5 of 11 from 3-point range, Christian Hunter was 8 for 17 overall and 3 of 10 from 3-point range and Ricardo Lewis was 7 for 19 overall and 3 of 9 from 3-point range. Those five guards shot an even 50 percent (40 for 80) from the field in helping the Blazers win the South Region.
The question is, can they keep it up against an IUP team that is sure to blanket Curnell in the Elite Eight?
“I think you let them shoot it,” Helfer said of his guards. “They made shots in the regional, and I expect them to continue to make shots. I think you do that by taking good shots. You don’t take bad shots. That was one of our keys in the regional.”
