RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. —
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — The Valdosta State Blazers are going to the Elite Eight!
Valdosta State’s men’s basketball team earned the school’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight on Tuesday night. The Blazers defeated Rollins 71-58 to win the South Region tournament at Tucker Coliseum.
Valdosta State claimed its 28th win of the year, against just four losses, and established a new school mark for wins in a season. Rollins fell to 27-6.
On Tuesday, Valdosta State started off hot, making five of its first six shots. Marvin Dibble opened the scoring with a pair of jumpers from the baseline, and added a free throw to the end of the second jumper to complete a three-point play. Ricardo Lewis added a 3-pointer for VSU, but Alex Castillo answered with a trifecta for Rollins. Dibble added his third bucket of the game.
Nick Wolf scored for Rollins, then Tristan Crawford ended the Blazers’ run with a 3-pointer to give VSU a 13-5 lead.
Rollins closed to within four points twice over the next seven minutes, only to have Valdosta State respond with buckets on its next possession.
The second time the Tars got within four, the Blazers answered with a 17-7 run, and grabbed their largest lead of the half, 39-25. Marquis Robinson began the run with a putback, then Kevin Harris sank a 3-pointer from the left wing. Nick Wolf scored for the Tars, but then VSU’s Ryan Nelson fed Robinson for a dunk.
A three-point play by Rollins’ Nikola Baran cut the VSU lead back to six, but Nelson answered with a 3 and Dibble, who scored 13 first-half points, hit a pair of buckets. Myk Brown briefly stymied the run with a layup, but Nelson scored the final points of the run with another 3-pointer to put VSU in front by 14.
Rollins closed the half with a 6-0 run, which included a banked-in 3 by Brock Blanchard at the buzzer, to cut the Valdosta State lead to 39-31 at the intermission.
Both teams shot the ball well during the first 20 minutes of play. VSU shot 51.7 percent, making 15 of 29 attempts from the floor. Rollins made 13 of its 25 shots (52 percent).
Rollins opened the second half on a 15-7 run, and took its first lead of the game, 47-46, with 12:31 left in the contest. Wolf spurred the run with five points, including a free throw that put the Tars in front, while Baran hit a pair of 3s.
But after that, Rollins went cold from the floor, and stayed that way the rest of the game. The Tars missed their next 18 shots, and did not make another basket until only 58 seconds remained in the game.
Harris put VSU back in front with a 3-pointer on the next Blazer possession, then Robinson added a putback and a pair of free throws. Harris made a second layup, and fed Charles Belton for a lay-in to give Valdosta State a 57-47 lead with seven minutes to play.
The Blazers closed out the victory by making 12 free throws in the final two minutes.
Dibble finished with a game-high 18 points for the Blazers. Harris added 12 points and Robinson 11. VSU All-American Tyrone Curnell scored just four points, but surpassed the 1,000-point mark, and also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Wolf led Rollins with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Brown finished with 14 points.
Curnell and Crawford each earned All-Tournament honors, as voted on by the media attending the event.
Valdosta State will face Indiana (Pa.), the winner of the Atlantic Region, in the Elite Eight at 2:30 p.m. on March 24 in Springfield, Mass.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Tyrone Curnell (2) and the Valdosta State Blazers advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division II national tournament with a 71-58 victory over Rollins in the South Region final on Tuesday in Russellville, Ark. Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Blazers Elite Eight bound!
Valdosta State defeats Rollins 71-58, wins South Region tournament
- Local Sports
-
-
The losing continues
Tommy Hanson says the Braves aren’t in panicking after their longest losing streak in two years reached eight games.
-
Gulf South approves invitation to Lee University
The Gulf South Conference’s search for additional members bore fruit when GSC Commissioner Nate Salant announced the GSC Executive Committee’s unanimous approval of an invitation to Lee University to apply for membership.
The approval comes on the heels of a recommendation from the GSC Expansion Committee, which visited Lee University’s campus last week -
Dario Franchitti wins Indy again
Dan Wheldon couldn’t win his third Indianapolis 500. Dario Franchitti did it for him.
And if it wasn’t going to be Franchitti, then it would be Scott Dixon. Maybe even Tony Kanaan.
No matter what, one of Wheldon’s best buddies was going to Victory Lane. -
VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
-
Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
-
All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
