2015 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament

2015 (2015) NAIA Men's Division II
Basketball Tournament

Logo for the 2015 National Championship
Teams 32
Finals Site Keeter Gymnasium
Point Lookout, Missouri
Champions Cornerstone ( title)
Runner-Up Dakota Wesleyan ( title game)
Semifinalists Davenport
Embry-Riddle
NAIA Men's Division II Tournaments
«2014  2016»

The 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game was won by Cornerstone University of Grand Rapids, Michigan over Dakota Wesleyan University of Mitchell, South Dakota by a score of 66 to 45.[1]

Tournament field

The 2015 tournament field was announced on March 14th in a live selection show. The field is made up of 23 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large bids and one automatic host bid presented to College of the Ozarks. This tournament field welcomed the return of four out of the last five champions, led by defending champion and top seed Indiana Wesleyan University along with Cardinal Stritch, Cornerstone, and Saint Francis.[2] There were four newcomers to the bracket, Brescia, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene and St. Francis of Illinois.

The complete field consists of Ashford, Bellevue, Bethel, Brescia, Briar Cliff, Cal Maritime, Cardinal Stritch, Concordia, Cornerstone, Dakota State, Davenport, Embry-Riddle, Friends, Grace, College of Idaho, Indiana University East, Indiana Wesleyan, Midland, Milligan, Morningside, Mount Mercy, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene, College of the Ozarks, Saint Francis, Saint Thomas, Southern Oregon, Tabor, Union, and Warner Pacific.[3]

Highlights

Fab Four

The fifth ranked Dakota Wesleyan Tigers came back from a twelve point deficit to defeat the College of Idaho Yotes 88-80 and advance to the NAIA championship game.[4] On the other side of the bracket, Davenport hit three free throws in the final six seconds to secure a 79-75 win over defending champion Indiana Wesleyan.[5]

Championship game

Cornerstone won their third national championship, defeating Dakota Wesleyan 66-45 behind a twenty-four point performance by Ben Lanning.[6]

Tourney awards and honors

Individual recognition

Name School
Dominez Burnett* Davenport
Bishop Robinson Davenport
Trae Bergh Dakota Wesleyan
Jalen Voss Dakota Wesleyan
Kris Menning Dakota Wesleyan
Ben Lanning Cornerstone
Travis Wells Cornerstone
DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle
Cesar Pastrana Embry-Riddle
Dalton Barnes Embry-Riddle

Statistical leaders

(minimum 4 games)[13]

Category Player School Tally
Most points Jalen Voss Dakota Wesleyan 106
Most points per game Dominez Burnett Davenport 21.25
Leading rebounder Ben Lanning Cornerstone 59
Leading rebounder per game Ben Lanning Cornerstone 11.8
Most assists DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 45
Assists per game DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 11.25
Assist/Turnover ratio Martin Tate Dakota Wesleyan 5.33
Three-pointers made Trae Bergh Dakota Wesleyan 16
Best overall field goal percentage Cesar Pastrana Embry-Riddle 71.4% (25-35)
Best 3-point field goal percentage Dominez Burnett Davenport 77.8% (7-9)
Most free throws made Cesar Pastrana (Tie) Embry-Riddle 24
Most free throws made Kyle Steigenga (Tie) Cornerstone 24
Best free throw percentage Ty Mason Cornerstone 92.9% (13-14)
Most steals DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 21
Most steals per game DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 5.25
Most shots blocked Ben Lanning Cornerstone 7
Most shots blocked per game Ben Lanning Cornerstone 1.4

2015 NAIA Division II bracket

First Round
March 11-12 		Second Round
March 13 		Quarterfinals
March 14 		Semifinals Round
March 16 		Championship
March 17
               
1 Indiana Wesleyan 77
Brescia 56
1 Indiana Wesleyan 79
16 Warner Pacific 71
16 Warner Pacific 79
Olivet Nazarene 54
1 Indiana Wesleyan 75
8 Davenport[14] 79
9 Mount Mercy 64
Cal Maritime 61
9 Mount Mercy 67
8 Davenport 70
8 Davenport 68
Briar Cliff 66
8 Davenport 51
5 Dakota Wesleyan 80
5 Dakota Wesleyan 98
Milligan 55
5 Dakota Wesleyan 65
Ashford 49
12 Bethel 57
Ashford 83
5 Dakota Wesleyan 88
4 College of Idaho 80
13 College of the Ozarks 69
Cardinal Stritch 78
Cardinal Stritch 80
4 College of Idaho 99
4 College of Idaho 65
Dakota State 64
5 Dakota Wesleyan 45
3 Cornerstone 66
3 Cornerstone 74
St. Thomas 58
3 Cornerstone 97
14 Concordia 78
14 Concordia 116
Indiana University East 90
3 Cornerstone 75
11 Saint Francis (Ind.) 64
11 Saint Francis (Ind.) 70
Saint Francis (Ill.) 68
11 Saint Francis 72
6 Morningside 70
6 Morningside 86
Tabor 79
3 Cornerstone 91
2 Embry-Riddle[15] 81
7 Bellevue 50
Grace 54
Grace 62
Southern Oregon 68
10 Midland 71
Southern Oregon 73
Southern Oregon 71
2 Embry-Riddle 79
15 Union 64
Northwestern Ohio 58
15 Union 75
2 Embry-Riddle 89
2 Embry-Riddle 76
Friends 47

[16]

Epilogue

When the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams, almost all the players were represented at the national tournament, with a few notable exceptions including Lawrence Jackson of Northwestern Ohio, Jordan Nelson of Waldorf, Andre Winston of Southeastern.

NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams

1st Team

Name School Hometown
Dominez Burnett* Davenport Flint, Michigan
DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle Big Cypress, Florida
Grant Greenberg Saint Mary Leavenworth, Kansas
Johnny Marlin Indiana Wesleyan Greenwood, Indiana
Steve O’Neill Morningside Council Bluffs, Iowa
Matt Schauss Bethel Greens Fork, Indiana
Tony Smit Cardinal Stritch Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Kyle Steigenga Cornerstone Holland, Michigan
Jalen Voss Dakota Wesleyan Worthington, Minnesota
Josh Wilson College of Idaho Los Angeles, California

2nd Team

Name School Hometown
Lawrence Jackson Northwestern, Ohio Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Jordan Nelson Waldorf Neenah, Wisconsin
Dondre Osborn Mount Mercy Zion, Illinois
Demetrius Perkins College of Idaho Compton, California
Tobin Reinwald Hastings Lincoln, Nebraska
Alex Starkel Midland Norfolk, Nebraska
Zach Steinmetz Lourdes Toledo, Ohio
Tim Weber Southern Oregon Roseburg, Oregon
Andre Winston Southeastern Tacoma, Washington
Clay Yeo Bethel Bourbon, Indiana

3rd Team

Name School Hometown
Brandon Cole Bryan Crossville, Tennessee
Brandon Eley AIB Zearing, Iowa
Austin Fox Saint Francis (Ind) Muncie, Indiana
Ilya Ilyayev Saint Francis (Ill) Los Angeles, California
Aaron Larson Olivet Nazarene Tolono, Illinois
Alex Starkel Midland Norfolk, Nebraska
Ben Lenning Cornerstone Grandville, Michigan
Kris Menning Dakota Wesleyan Corsica, South Dakota
Austin Morris Brescia Evansville, Indiana
Brequan Tucker Jamestown Joliet, Illinois

Honorable Mention

Name School Hometown
Bryant Allen Dakota State Maplewood, Missouri
Trey Bardsley Nebraska Wesleyan Beatrice, Nebraska
Cameron Clark Southwestern Lewisville, Texas
Derek Daniels College of the Ozarks Mountain View, Missouri
Jeremy Comer Presentation Indianapolis, Indiana
Nick Frazier St. Ambrose Bellwood, Illinois
Warren Hall Warner (Fla.) Tampa, Florida
Logan Irwin Grace (Ind.) South Whitley, Indiana
Deante Johnson Union College (Kentucky) Cincinnati, Ohio
Jack Krieger Saint Xavier (Illinois) Plainfield, Illinois
Percy Lemle Bellevue (Nebraska) Carson, California
Gabriel Martinez Northern New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico
Alex Marzette Robert Morris (Ill.) Racine, Wisconsin
Fredricus Mattison Northwood (Fla.) Anderson, South Carolina
Diamontae McKinley Ashford (Iowa) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Esvan Middleton Concordia (Oregon) Culver City, California
Cesar Pastrana Embry-Riddle (Florida) Cartagena, Colombia
Nathan Rindels Dordt (Iowa) Boulder, Colorado
Alec Schwab William Penn (Iowa) Peru, Illinois
Trey Scott Waldorf (Iowa) Fridley, Minnesota
Jake Simpson Indiana University Southeast Louisville, Kentucky
Dion Smith Marian (Ind.) Indianapolis, Ind.
Andrew Thomas Tabor (Kansas) Grenada
Eric Thompson Southern Oregon Roseburg, Oregon
Jerah’me Williams Point Park (Pa.) Youngstown, Ohio

[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cornerstone wins NAIA DII national championship". Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship Qualifiers Announced". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "College of the Ozarks Presents the NAIA Division II Men's National Basketball Championship". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Dakota Wesleyan advances to NAIA semifinal". 15 March 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Indiana Wesleyan falls to Davenport in quarterfinals". 17 March 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Cornerstone Defeats Dakota Wesleyan In Championship Game". 17 March 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dominez Burnett named NABC 2015 NAIA DII Coaches' Player of the Year". 31 March 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Fisher, Rod (18 March 2015). "DWU Falls Short in NAIA Title Game". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "NABC UPS National Coaches of the Year announced". 31 March 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Rawlings-NAIA National Basketball Coach of the Year". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Hodge, Garrick (17 March 2015). "Wilber honored, thanks seniors for memorable season". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "2015 All-Tournament Team". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "2014-15 NAIA Div II Men's National Championship Individual Stats". dakstats. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "Fab Four Bound! No. 8 Davenport men's basketball hangs on to upset No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan". Michigan Live. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "ESPN3 Stream 2015 NAIA DII Men’s Basketball Final".
  16. ↑ "Bracket". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "Dominez Burnett Named NABC-NAIA Division II National Player of the Year". 19 March 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
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