Columbus State downs South Suburban in Men's DII tourney
March 18, 2009
Danville, IL- The 3rd game of the 2009 NJCAA DII Men's Basketball Tournament featured NJCAA District 3 Champion South Suburban College vs. NJCAA District 7 Champion Columbus State Community College. The winner of this game will advance to the 2nd round to play Kirkwood Community College, who received a 1st round bye draw.
In a highly anticipated 1st round match-up, the #1 ranked Columbus State jumped out to an 11-7 lead over the #6 ranked South Suburban after Brandon Beasley banked in a long 3-point shot. South Suburban answered with a 3-pointer of their own along with a couple defensive stops to even the score. Columbus State ran the floor well resulting in easy transition points. The fast pace game caused troubles for South Suburban, which resulted in a lot of fouls called. South Suburban's 7'0" center had to leave the game with 3 fouls at the 11 minute mark, forcing them to use a small lineup. Head Coach John Pigatti tried to make the best of his small lineup by implementing a ¾ court run-and-jump press. Columbus State's Rayshawn Goins stepped up off the bench to drop 17 points before coming out with 5 minutes remaining in the 1st half. His efforts helped his squad keep a consistent 6 point lead for the majority of the half. South Suburban made some good offensive plays, but also made too many mistakes to claim the lead. They let Columbus State's lead grow to 51-43 at the halftime break.
1ST HALF LEADERS FOR SOUTH SUBURBAN:
Nick Carey, 5'9" Soph, 11 pts
Devin Scott Jr., 6'3" Soph, 9 pts
1ST HALF LEADERS FOR COLUMBUS STATE:
Rayshawn Goins, 6'5" Fresh, 17 pts
Brandon Beasley, 6'4" Soph, 12 pts
Gregory LeSage, 6'9" Soph, 10 pts
South Suburban came out of the halftime break with a vengeance as they closed the gap and took a 54-52 lead just over 3 minutes into the half. The run caused Columbus State Head Coach Patrick Carlisle to call a time out to calm his team. Columbus State was forced to play the majority of the half without starting forward Greg LeSage, due to getting his 2nd and 3rd foul early in the half. The game became increasingly more physical and the foul counts grew quickly for both squads. Columbus State was already shooting the double bonus with 12 minutes remaining in the game. South Suburban was shooting the bonus with over 9 minutes remaining. With Columbus State having a short lead of 66-62 with 9 minutes remaining, it was evident that the game would come down to bonus free throws. After an intense battle for the majority of the half, South Suburban made a short run to take the 75-74 lead with 2 minutes remaining in the game. However, Columbus State came right back with an easy bucket, along with a free throw point after a South Suburban foul to regain a 77-75 lead. South Suburban starters Jarrell Turner and DeAngelo McIntosh fouled out in the closing minutes of the game, forcing Coach Pigatti to look deep into his bench. Columbus State made their free throws in the last minute of the half to win with a final score of 86-78.
Columbus State Community College will now advance to the 2nd round to play Kirkwood Community College on Thursday, March 19 at 6:30 PM. Kirkwood received a blind draw bye for the 1st round. South Suburban will continue to play in the consolation bracket vs. the loser of Morton College and Lincoln College at 11:00 AM on Friday, March 20.
GAME LEADERS FOR SOUTH SUBURBAN:
DeAngelo McIntosh, 6'5" Soph, 19 pts
Nick Carey, 5'9" Soph, 13 pts
Joe Pope, 6'4" Fresh, 12 pts
Jarrell Turner, 6'2" Soph, 11 pts
GAME LEADERS FOR COLUMBUS STATE:
Brandon Beasley, 6'4" Soph, 18 pts
Rayshawn Goins, 6'5" Fresh, 18 pts
Gregory LeSage, 6'9" Soph, 15 pts
Gregory Rice, 6'4" Soph, 12 pts
Jarrell Sanders, 6'5" Soph, 11 pts