Madgen 20 Pts But ASU Loses
in D-2 National Championship
www.asu.edu
31 Mar 2008
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - Augusta State’s magical run to the National Championship came up just short on Saturday afternoon as the Jaguars fell to Winona State 87-76 in the final game of the Elite Eight. The No. 3 Warriors claimed their second national championship in three years after trailing by as many as 15 in the first half and by 12 at halftime. With the loss, ASU’s most successful season in school history comes to an end with a 27-7 record while Winona State, who set an NCAA single-season wins record, finishes 38-1.
After a back-and-forth opening to the game, the 10th-ranked Jaguars took control of the first half with a 10-0 run with under six minutes to go. All-American forward Tyrekus ‘AJ’ Bowman was unstoppable in the half for ASU, connecting on 9-of-11 shots for 20 points. The senior from Tignall, Ga., scored eight of ASU’s 10 points during the first-half run while Ben Madgen (Adelaide) added five more.
A layup from Winona’s David Johnson cut the lead to eight with 2:44 to play in the first, but the Jaguars responded with six straight points to open up a 16-point lead, their largest of the game. However, a Curtel Robinson free throw and a three-pointer from Quincy Henderson at the buzzer cut the lead to 12.
The second half was nearly an exact reversal of the first as Winona State began their comeback down 12 with 14:21 to play. The Warriors outscored the Jaguars 19-5 over the next six minutes, including holding ASU without a point for over four minutes. After shooting only 38% in the first half, the Warriors hit 50% of their shots from the field in the second half, finally taking a 65-63 lead with 7:40 to go.
Augusta State tied it again on a Bowman layup and were down only one with 5:13 to play when Winona put the game away with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes. Jonte Flowers seemingly could not miss for Winona as he scored eight straight points during that stretch, including back-to-back 3-pointers. Bowman, who picked up his fourth foul with 12:53 to play, was limited to 14 minutes in the second half. Full Story
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