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Team and Player Stats

UC San Diego Tritons, Coach Ken Yamoto

Team Stats

Record: 22-7; 13-3 (2nd place in Conf S); 12-3 at home; 10-4 away; NET Ranking: 80th; 73.9 ppg, 65.0 opp ppg, 18.2 apg, 32.4 rpg

Player Stats Leaders

PPG: DeVante Botts-16.8; Jeremiah Mason-14.3; Al LeVasseur-10.4; Bryce Stafford-9.6; Brandon Payne-7.1; Steve McCrory-5.0; Camara McWilliams-4.6
RPG: Jeremiah Mason-6.8; Bryce Stafford-5.0; Steve McCrory-4.4; DeVante Botts-4.0, Camara McWilliams-3.8, Al LeVasseur-3.1
APG: Al LeVasseur-5.0; Jeremiah Mason-2.3; DeVante Botts-2.1; Bryce Stafford-2.0; Steve McCrory-2.0

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks, Coach Mike McMillan

Team Stats

Record: 17-14; 11-5 (3rd place in Conf S); 10-4 home; 7-9 away; NET Ranking: 155th; 69.5 ppg, 67.6 opp ppg, 16.7 apg, 31.1 rpg

Player Stats Leaders

PPG: Carl Hancock-11.5; Anthony Wilks-11.4; Kyle Mader-8.9; Ivoree Spence-8.7; Zamiro Colter-7.7; Rob Evans-7.4; Rick Miller-5.6; Ray West-4.6
RPG: Rob Evans-5.7; Kyle Mader-5.5; Anthony Wilks-4.8; Zamiro Wilks-4.6; Carl Hancock-3.1; Ivoree Spence-2.7
APG: Ivoree Spence-4.4; Anthony Wilks-2.2; Carl Hancock-2.2

Western Illinois Leathernecks, Coach Terry Morillo

Team Stats

Record: 22-8; 11-5 (2nd place tie in Conf S); 13-1 home; 9-7 away; NET Ranking: 51st; 69.4 ppg, 61.9 opp ppg, 16.9 apg, 29.1 rpg

Player Stats Leaders

PPG: Ty Wilfork-12.2; Orvo Haapajarvi-11.2; David Perry-10.1; Mohamed Ammons-9.8; Brandt Kennedy-9.4; Idris Bass-4.6; Trent Cougar-3.3; Bill Shin-3.3; Eliran Zaichik-3.3
RPG: Ty Wilfork-5.9; Orvo Haapajarvi-5.1; David Perry-4.8; Brandt Kennedy-3.6; Cole Greer-2.3
APG: Mohamed Ammons-3.9; Orvo Haapajarvi-2.6; Brandt Kennedy-2.3; Ty Wilfork-2.2

Southeast Louisiana Lions, Coach Ramon Montez

Team Stats

Record: 18-12; 10-6 (3rd place in Conf O); 12-1 home; 6-11 away; NET Ranking: 70th; 68.9 ppg, 64.5 opp ppg, 17.3 apg, 30.2 rpg

Player Stats Leaders

PPG: Jason Nee-11.9; Mike Sanders-11.0; Will Collins-10.6; Mike Bree-7.8; Shawnelle Allen-6.0; Fred Morant-5.8; Thomas Matthews-5.6; Morris Few-4.3
RPG: Jason Nee-6.3; Mike Sanders-5.2; Shawnelle Allen-4.4; Fred Morant-3.9; Will Collins-2.7; Morris Few-2.7
APG: Mike Bree-4.3; Will Collins-2.6; Shawnelle Allen-2.3

Georgia State Panthers, Coach Dontell Spencer

Team Stats

Record: 14-13; 6-10 (13th place tie in Conf I); 7-6 home; 7-7 away; NET Ranking: 188th; 69.1 ppg, 67.5 opp ppg, 16.5 apg, 34.7 rpg

Player Stats Leaders

PPG: David Selby-14.9; Marshall Sanders-8.8; Clint Strohm-8.4; Aaron Samuels-8.4; Cy Hogue-8.1; Jared Sharp-6.4; Gerald Payne-4.7; Elton Sheals-4.1
RPG: Aaron Samuels-7.7; Marshall Sanders-6.5; David Selby-5.3; Jared Sharp-4.0; Clint Strohm-3.9; Gerald Payne-3.1
APG: Cy Hogue-3.2; Clint Strohm-3.1; Elton Sheals-2.4; David Selby-2.2

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Tournament Selections

NCAA Tournament

#1 seeds: Temple, Oregon, Kentucky, Maryland


UC San Diego (Play in game against Bradley for 12th seed in Midwest Region)

Southeast Louisiana—16th seed in South Region

Western Illinois—12th seed in West Region

CIT Tournament

Maryland Eastern Shore—7th seed in Midwest Region

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CIT Tournament Results

Round 1: North Carolina State Wolfpack—80, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (17-14)—68 (The Hawks fell behind early and never recovered. NC State led 38-28 at the half and held a double digit lead throughout almost the entire 2nd half. SF Anthony Wilks—14 pts, 3 stl; PG Ivoree Spence—11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast. Coach Mike McMillan said, “The Wolfpack did a good job of keeping us off the boards and also scored 8 more points at the free throw line. It would have been nice to get further in the tournament, but it still was a good experience for all our guys.”)

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NCAA Tournament Results

Play in game for 12 seed: UC San Diego Tritons (23-7)—75, Bradley Braves—70 (Not a lot of distance between these two teams. The lead swung back and forth throughout the first half with the Tritons carving out a 35-31 halftime advantage. They then led throughout most of the 2nd half, although the Braves overtook them briefly with about 7 minutes remaining in the game. But UC San Diego used good shooting (51% on FG’s) and good ball control (just 12 turnovers compared to 20 by Bradley) to come away with a win over the favored Braves. C Bryce Stafford—25 pts; SG Brandon Payne—15 pts, 3 stl; PG Al LeVasseur—9 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl. “I’m really proud of how our guys played to win their way into the Big Dance and a 12th seed. Bryce (Stafford) was sharp, hitting 11 of his 13 shots,” said Coach Ken Yamoto. “We’re all really excited to be heading to Chicago and to take on #5 seed Oklahoma State.”

Round 1: #12 seed UC San Diego Tritons (24-7)—79, #5 seed, #21 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys—63 (This was truly a HUGE UPSET. The Tritons of Conference S and Cowboys of Conference C exchanged the lead 5 times in the first 7 minutes of the game, but then the Tritons defense stalled Oklahoma State allowing UC San Diego to achieve a 38-26 halftime advantage. While expecting the Cowboys to storm back in the 2nd half, the crowd cheered on the underdog Tritons and the team responded by expanding their lead and winning with relative ease. UC San Diego shocked Oklahoma State by outshooting them 47% to 38% and finishing +3 in rebounding. While the Cowboys scored 14 more points at the foul line, the Tritons scored an amazing 30 more points from the field. PG Al LeVasseur--27 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast; C Bryce Stafford—pts; reserve guard Solomon Rayner--14 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast; PF Jeremiah Mason12—pts, 6 reb. “All I can say is I’m on cloud 9 right now,” said Coach Ken Yamoto.) [Additional Note: #14 seed Grambling, which finished in first place ahead of UC San Diego, provided yet another upset for Conference S by coming from behind to defeat #4 seed and #15 ranked Old Dominion of Conference D 74-71.]

Round 1: #1 seed, #3 ranked Kentucky Wildcats—93, #16 seed Southeast Louisiana Lions (18-13)--The Lions made a game of it with 5 lead changes with Kentucky in the first 4 minutes, but then Kentucky exploded to take a 44-26 halftime advantage and continued to bury SE Louisiana in the 2nd half. SG Will Collins—18 pts; reserve guard Thomas Matthews—14 pts; C Jason Nee—13 pts; PG Mike Bree—9 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast. Coach Ramon Montez said, “We shot well (48% on FG’s and 50% on 3’s), but Kentucky shot a little better and really derailed our effort on the boards (KY was +9) and on turnovers (the Lions made 7 more). But it was exciting for us to go up a powerhouse like the Wildcats.)

Round 1: #5 seed, #13 ranked Buffalo Bulls—77, #12 seed Western Illinois Leathernecks (22-9)—73 (The Leathernecks controlled the game in the first half and were ahead 43-30 at the break. They continued to hold off Buffalo in the 2nd half and went up by as much as 16 points early in the half. But then the Bulls began to nibble away at the lead and finally overtook Western Illinois with 2 minutes remaining for a disappointing loss for the underdog Leathernecks. SF Ty Wilfork—23 pts, 6 reb; PF Orvo Haapajarvi—14 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast; C David Perry—8 pts, 9 reb. “We played a great game, but Buffalo showed exceptional poise and why they’re ranked #13 in the country in the 2nd half. A great effort by my guys, though,” said Coach Terry Morillo.)

Round 2: #4 seed, #18 ranked Michigan State Spartans—61, #12 seed UC San Diego Tritons (24-8)—60 (The Tritons kept up with he favored Spartans for the first 10 minutes during which there were 8 lead changes, but Michigan State then jumped out to a 36-23 halftime bulge. With 11 minutes to go in the game, the Tritons’ defense slowed the Spartans and UC San Diego crept up. With 2 minutes to go, UC San Diego trailed by 4, then by 2 with a minute left. Trailing by a single point with 13 seconds to go, the Tritons grabbed a defensive rebound. Following a time out, they worked the clock down to 5 seconds and ran a set up pick and roll, but Al LeVasseur’s shot rimmed out. PG Al LeVasseur—23 pts, PF Jeremiah Mason—9 pts, 9 reb. “We very nearly pulled off another big upset, but it just wasn’t to be. But what a tremendous effort by our entire team in beating a favored team from Conference I in the play-in game, scoring an impressive win in round 1 against a Conference C powerhouse and coming so close against a big-time Conference B team tonight.” [Additional Note: #13 seed Grambling of Conference S fell 61-54 to #5 seed, #16 ranked BYU in round 2…but still an impressive showing by both Conference S teams.]

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Tournament Championship Games:

CIT: UCONN—75, Iowa State—52

CBI: Florida International—74, Radford—63

NIT: Colorado—79, Northwestern--54

NCAA: Georgetown—71, Temple—64

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AWARDS

Jeremiah Mason, UC San Diego—Conference S’s 1st Team All-Conference

DeVante Botts, UC San Diego—Conference S’s 2nd Team All-Conference

Jason Nee, Southeast Louisana—Conference O Defensive Player of the Year

Jason Nee, Southeast Louisana—Conference O 1st Team All Conference

Ty Wilfork, Western Illinois—Conference R 2nd Team All-Conference

David Selby, Georgia State—Conference I 2nd Team All-Conference

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Head Coach Moves

This is easy. None of the 5 coaches are taking new jobs. Dontell Spencer and Ramon Montez took new jobs a couple years ago and want to develop their teams more. And Ken Yamoto, Mike McMillan, and Terry Morillo all have teams that will be promoted this coming year so have new challenges.

Assistant Coach Changes

Western Illinois’ 2nd Asst Tyler Berry’s contract expired and he took 1st Asst job at Stony Brook.

Western Illinois’ 3rd Asst Marvin Tacket left to take 3rd Asst job at Virginia.

Coach Morillo at Western Illinois hired Clifford Tinsley as 2nd Asst to handle player development and Justin Laws as 3rd Asst to scouting. In doing so, he decreased the overall expenditure for assistants for next year which will provide more money for recruiting.

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Recruiting Results

UC San Diego recruited 5 players: C Kyle Blizzard (ranked 1196th), SF Jimmy Wade (1068th ranked), PF Dave Jackson (896th ranked), C Maurice Brooks (1450th ranked), and PF Merv Dye (1479th ranked).

MD-Eastern Shore recruited 2 players: SG Jon Arrington (1226th ranked) and PG Joseph Page (902nd ranked) and made last ditch offer to 5-star, low SAT C Andy Cummings (20th ranked) which was accepted on April 23.

Southeast Louisiana recruited 5 players: C Travis Dixon (1255th ranked), SG Mark Woodard (1653rd ranked), SG Bryan Fox (1382nd ranked), SF Arlie McCray (987th ranked), and SF Leroy Phillips (1011th ranked).

Western Illinois recruited 7 players: SG Tony Henry (1642nd ranked), SF Kenny Warford (1664th ranked), C Walter Jackson (594th ranked), SG Clay Dixon (1596th ranked), SF Joe Roberts (1692nd ranked), SF Andre Bradford (1704th ranked), and PF Hunter Anderson (946th ranked).

Georgia State recruited 3 players: C Jeremy Young (529th ranked), C Ron Rush (966th ranked), and SF Danny Williams (1237th ranked).

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Petitioning of the Boards

Coach Yamoto at UC San Diego requested facilities upgrade. It was denied until there’s increase in prestige.

Coach McMillan at MD-Eastern Shore requested facilities upgrade. It was denied until there’s increase in prestige.

Coach Montez at Southeast Louisiana requested increased budget. A $4,500 increase was approved.

Coach Morillo at Western Illinois requested facilties upgrade. The request was approved improving facilities from D+ to C+.

Coach Spencer at Georgia State requested increased budget. The request was denied since the board feels things are going fine as they are.

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Records of the 5 Coaches:

Here’s how the 5 Musketeers have done in their 10 seasons as head coaches:

Dontell Spencer, Georgia State Panthers—Overall Record: 175-88 (.665); Season records: 6-10, 9-7, 11-8, 25-6, 24-10, 21-10, 23-6, 24-6 while at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 18-12, 14-13 while at Georgia State; 5 NIT and 3 NCAA appearances with 1 advancement to NIT Semifinals and 1 to NIT Championship game; Ranked in Top 25 one season; 6 promotions to higher conferences while at Arkansas Pine Bluff and 1 promotion to a high conference and 1 relegation to a lower conference while at Georgia State; Conference Coach of the Year 4 times; Reputation: 34.

Ramon Montez, Southeast Louisiana Lions—Overall Record: 184-108 (.630); Season records: 8-7, 14-14, 14-16, 18-14, 24-7, 23-8. 21-9, 19-12 (while at Alcorn State) and 24-8, 19-13 with 1 NIT appearance (while at SE Louisiana); 1 CIT, 1 NIT, and 5 NCAA appearances, 6 promotions to higher conferences while at Alcorn State and 2 promotions to a high conference while at SE Louisiana; Conference Coach of the Year 2 times; Reputation: 21 (he sustained a greater than 10 point decrease after Alcorn State was placed on probation in 2038, but most of his skill ratings are in the 50s and 60s).

Mike McMillan, Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks—Overall Record: 162-113 (.589); Season records: 8-7, 6-9, 12-17, 12-17, 20-9, 21-10, 20-10, 21-10, 25-10, 17-14; 2 CIT, 1 CBI, 1 NIT and 2 NCAA appearances with 1 Championship at CIT, 5 promotions to higher conferences; Conference Coach of the Year 3 times; Reputation: 33.

Terry Morillo, Western Illinois Leathernecks—Overall Record: 145-109 (.571); Season records: 4-11, 7-8, 4-11 at Dixie State and 13-16, 15-15, 16-12, 23-8, 17-12, 24-7, 22-9 at Western Illinois; 1 CIT and 3 NCAA appearances; Ranked in Top 25 one season; 5 promotions to a higher conferences; Conference Coach of the Year 1 time; Reputation: 27.

Ken Yamoto, UC-San Diego Tritons—Overall Record: 140-115 (.549); Season records: 3-12, 2-13, 6-9 at Tarleton State and 10-17, 15-13, 20-11, 14-15, 24-6, 22-9, 24-8 at UC-San Diego; 1 CBI, 2 NIT, and 1 NCAA appearances with advancement to 1 CBI Semifinal game and 1 NIT Semifinal game; 5 promotions to a higher conference; Conference Coach of the Year 3 times; Reputation: 28.