The Valdosta Daily Times
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.
