JACKSON, Tenn. - 3/6/2007 - The No. 12 Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ University Bulldogs lost to No. 10 Crichton College in the 2007 TranSouth Conference Tournament Championship game. This was Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s first loss in the TranSouth Title game in six appearances. The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 23-9 on the season, while Crichton went to 26-7 for the year.
Crichton jumped out to an early lead, starting the game on a 7-0 run. The Bulldogs got down by as many as 14 points early in the first half. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ began steadily chipping away at the Crichton lead however, in part to a big three-pointer by Ben Frederick. After a couple of key blocks by Ryan Merriman on defense, Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ went into halftime only down by five points, 41-36.
The Bulldogs came back from halftime and scored four quick points to cut Crichton’s lead to one point, 41-40. Then Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ took their first lead of the game on a jumper by Mack Bealim to go ahead 46-45 with 16:16 left in the game. The majority of the second half showed both teams swapping baskets, with neither team able to pull away. The game saw 13 lead-changes in the second half. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ lead by two points when Demario Chaffin banked in a fade-away three-pointer to give Crichton a one point advantage with 17 seconds left on the clock. On Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ's next possession, Bealim was fouled and sank both free throws to give Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ a one point lead, 77-76, with seven seconds left in regulation. Following a Crichton turnover on the inbounds pass, Frederick hit one of two free throws to put Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ up 78-76 with 6.2 seconds left. Crichton's Melvin Wilkes drove the length of the floor for a game-tying layup to send the game into overtime, tied 78 apiece.
Crichton scored first to take the lead in overtime, and got up by as many as five, 83-78. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ got as close as two points, but could not pull out their sixth TranSouth Tournament victory as they fell to Crichton in overtime, 89-85.
Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ boasted five players in double figures, led by Pierry Valmera with 25 points. Tacuma Alexander and Deywane Lee put up 14 points and 13 points, respectively. Brian Lake posted his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds on the night, and Ben Frederick added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
Crichton's Stanley Brownlee led the Comets in scoring with 24 points. While Deshawn Danzey added 22 points, and Sylvania Watkins posted 16 points in the game.
Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ will be headed next to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri as the No. 12 overall seed. The Bulldogs will take on the Lancers of California Baptist University in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 10:45 am. All of the Bulldogs games can be heard live on SUPERTALK 97.7 FM, or online via the page.
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