LEWISTON, Idaho - The Vanguard University Men's Basketball Team (8-3) saw their season come to a close at the NAIA National Basketball Tournament as they fell to Benedictine University at Mesa (5-8) by a score of 75-78. The Lions had three players score in double figures, but Austin Denham's 24 points would be too much for the Lions to overcome in a tightly-contested opening-round matchup.
What Happened? Masie Mohammadi (JR/San Carlos, CA) came out ready to play as he knocked down a couple of deep threes to give the Lions a 12-6 advantage. Austin Denham would score 8 of the first 10 points for the Redhawks and Maurice Walton would show off some fancy footwork around the basket to tie things up at 18 with 9:40 left in the first. BENU would take their first lead of the game with 5:40 left in the first as Jalen Grijalva attacked the rack and got a layup to go.
James Moore (SR/Talco, TX) would come off the bench for the Pride and would tally eight quick points on 3-6 shooting from the field, going 2-3 from the line as both teams continued their relentless attack inside; both teams had more than 60% percent of their points coming from inside the paint. Nico Dasca (SO/Costa Mesa, CA) would hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to tie things up at 39 heading into the halftime break.
Phillip Willis (SO/San Diego, CA) came out of the break on fire as he scored eight of the first 15 points in the second half, including a stepback jumper that crumpled a Redhawks defender to push the Lions' lead to 56-50. Denham continued to be a force offensively as he recorded his 20th point with 8:39 left in the game to cap off a 10-3 run in favor of the Redhawks. BENU continued to push in front as Denham knocked down a jumper and assisted on another to push the lead to seven. Isaac Davis (JR/Valencia, CA) knocked down a jumper and Rhett Soliday called a timeout to organize his defense with 2:45 left in the game.
Willis was fouled in the act of shooting with a minute left in the contest and cooly knocked down all three free-throws to cut the deficit back down to two, as the score showed 73-75 in favor of the Redhawks. Willis then came away with a clutch steal and headed to the line once again and knocked down two more free throws to tie the game at 75. Tre Carolina came down on the other end and was fouled on a drive, going 1-2 from the line, leading to a dramatic finish as the Pride missed on a good look from the midrange with five seconds left. Denham knocked down two free-throws and the Lions missed a heave at the buzzer as they fell 75-78.
Why It's Important? Vanguard certainly has plenty to be proud of as seven of the first eight games of the season were declared COVID no contests, before the Pride rattled off an 8-3 record, going winning two of three over (RV) Westmont College to earn their spot in the National Tournament.
Garrett White (JR/Post Falls, ID),
Aziz Seck (SR/Dakar, Senegal), and
Isaac Davis represented the Blue and Gold in the All-Conference nominations.
Top Performers: Garrett White and Phillip Willis each had 17 points; White shot 53% from the field and added six rebounds while Willis went 7-7 from the line, picked off two passes, and blocked a shot. James Moore also hit double-figures off the bench as he scored 12 points and secured four rebounds. As a team, the Lions shot 46% from the field, 31% from deep, and 85% from the free-throw line.
What They Said: Head Coach Rhett Soliday - "I'm proud of this team I'm so many ways beyond the court. They have been resilient, together, and selfless. Amidst all the challenges this year this was honestly one of the funnest years I've ever had coaching. Our guys are an absolutely joy to compete with and to do life with. Credit Ben U for a great job executing their game plan. I know this game with fuel our guys for more next year and they will work hard to make it happen."
#ClawsUp
