Morningside-Bellevue game highlights BCU Holiday Tournament
By Barry Poe Journal sports writer | Posted: Friday, December 28, 2007
A hard-fought 12-point victory at Briar Cliff certainly wasn't easy and the Morningside College men's basketball team had a couple of tough contests in Colorado earlier this season.
The Mustangs, however, could face their stiffest challenge today, taking on Bellevue University in the second of four games at the Briar Cliff Holiday Tournament.
Morningside, ranked No. 2 in NAIA Division II, takes a 13-0 record into the 3 p.m. contest while Bellevue, ranked 14th, is 13-1.
"This group plays hard for 40 minutes and keeps running fresh guys at you," said Morningside Coach Jim Sykes. "They're so athletic, crash the boards hard and are feisty on defense."
The BCU Holiday Tournament, sponsored by Holiday Inn-Downtown, consists of four games today and four more tomorrow, all at the Newman Flanagan Center on campus.
The Morningside women will play Haskell Indian Nations in the opener at 1 p.m. today while the Briar Cliff women take on Peru State at 5:30. The nightcap pits the Briar Cliff and Peru State men at 7:30 p.m.
"I think it's a great time to have a tournament," said Briar Cliff Coach Todd Barry, who organized the event. "The Christmas presents have been unwrapped and the trees put away, and with the quality of teams we have coming in, it should be a great tournament."
Defense has been the calling card for Morningside, which is off to its best start in school history. The Mustangs have limited 10 of their first 13 opponents to less than 70 points, including Mount Mercy in a 72-54 victory last Thursday. In that game, M'side trailed 35-33 at halftime but outscored Mount Mercy 39-19 in the second half.
"That's going to be the key for us again in this game," said Sykes. "If we can defend and keep the score down, that gives us a chance for success. We know one thing, they've got a fine basketball team."
Todd Eisner, a 1991 Creighton University graduate, has turned Bellevue into an NAIA Division II power since taking over the program in 2000. The Bruins have a 206-53 record under Eisner's watch and have made the national tournament six of the last seven seasons.
Bellevue was ranked No. 1 nationally at the end of the 2006-07 regular season, but was upset in the second round of the national tournament by Northwest University (Wash.), 62-56. The Bruins, who won the Midlands Collegiate Athletics Conference, finished with a 32-2 record.
Three starters return from that team, but the leading scorer is Klaye Rowe, a 6-5 senior from Papillion, Neb., who was one of the top reserves last season. Rowe, a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American at Iowa Central in 2005-06, averages 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Thomas Pargett, Morningside's leading scorer with a 14-point average, is closing in on a milestone. The 6-3 senior from Syracuse, Neb., needs 28 points to become the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
Briar Cliff, 9-5, has played only two home games this season, losing to Morningside 74-62 on Nov. 20 and defeating Mount Marty 83-62 on Dec. 5.
"We knew it would be a challenge, but the guys have done a great job of persevering and hanging together," said Barry. "We've played some real good basketball on the road. But, that doesn't guarantee anything when we come back home.
"I think we're getting better all the time. There are some areas we need to clean up, but we keep making progress in all areas and that's what you're trying to do."
The Chargers played a pair of games in Florida last week, losing to Warner Southern 81-75 in overtime and defeating Webber International 62-52.
The Morningside women (12-2), ranked No. 4 nationally, have won nine straight games. The Mustangs drilled a school-record 18 three-pointers in their last outing, a 97-60 rout of Pacific (Ore.) in the Hoop N Surf Classic at Honolulu, Hawaii, last Thursday.
Briar Cliff's women (7-8) split two games in the Hoop N Surf, beating Finlandia (Mich.) 90-54 and falling to Wheaton (Mass.) 67-59.
Saturday's slate begins with a 1 p.m. women's game between Morningside and Peru State. The men's teams from those two schools do battle at 3 o'clock while the Briar Cliff and Haskell Indian Nations women play at 5:30 and Briar Cliff and Bellevue clash at 7:30.
The Mustangs, however, could face their stiffest challenge today, taking on Bellevue University in the second of four games at the Briar Cliff Holiday Tournament.
Morningside, ranked No. 2 in NAIA Division II, takes a 13-0 record into the 3 p.m. contest while Bellevue, ranked 14th, is 13-1.
"This group plays hard for 40 minutes and keeps running fresh guys at you," said Morningside Coach Jim Sykes. "They're so athletic, crash the boards hard and are feisty on defense."
The BCU Holiday Tournament, sponsored by Holiday Inn-Downtown, consists of four games today and four more tomorrow, all at the Newman Flanagan Center on campus.
The Morningside women will play Haskell Indian Nations in the opener at 1 p.m. today while the Briar Cliff women take on Peru State at 5:30. The nightcap pits the Briar Cliff and Peru State men at 7:30 p.m.
"I think it's a great time to have a tournament," said Briar Cliff Coach Todd Barry, who organized the event. "The Christmas presents have been unwrapped and the trees put away, and with the quality of teams we have coming in, it should be a great tournament."
Defense has been the calling card for Morningside, which is off to its best start in school history. The Mustangs have limited 10 of their first 13 opponents to less than 70 points, including Mount Mercy in a 72-54 victory last Thursday. In that game, M'side trailed 35-33 at halftime but outscored Mount Mercy 39-19 in the second half.
"That's going to be the key for us again in this game," said Sykes. "If we can defend and keep the score down, that gives us a chance for success. We know one thing, they've got a fine basketball team."
Todd Eisner, a 1991 Creighton University graduate, has turned Bellevue into an NAIA Division II power since taking over the program in 2000. The Bruins have a 206-53 record under Eisner's watch and have made the national tournament six of the last seven seasons.
Bellevue was ranked No. 1 nationally at the end of the 2006-07 regular season, but was upset in the second round of the national tournament by Northwest University (Wash.), 62-56. The Bruins, who won the Midlands Collegiate Athletics Conference, finished with a 32-2 record.
Three starters return from that team, but the leading scorer is Klaye Rowe, a 6-5 senior from Papillion, Neb., who was one of the top reserves last season. Rowe, a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American at Iowa Central in 2005-06, averages 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Thomas Pargett, Morningside's leading scorer with a 14-point average, is closing in on a milestone. The 6-3 senior from Syracuse, Neb., needs 28 points to become the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
Briar Cliff, 9-5, has played only two home games this season, losing to Morningside 74-62 on Nov. 20 and defeating Mount Marty 83-62 on Dec. 5.
"We knew it would be a challenge, but the guys have done a great job of persevering and hanging together," said Barry. "We've played some real good basketball on the road. But, that doesn't guarantee anything when we come back home.
"I think we're getting better all the time. There are some areas we need to clean up, but we keep making progress in all areas and that's what you're trying to do."
The Chargers played a pair of games in Florida last week, losing to Warner Southern 81-75 in overtime and defeating Webber International 62-52.
The Morningside women (12-2), ranked No. 4 nationally, have won nine straight games. The Mustangs drilled a school-record 18 three-pointers in their last outing, a 97-60 rout of Pacific (Ore.) in the Hoop N Surf Classic at Honolulu, Hawaii, last Thursday.
Briar Cliff's women (7-8) split two games in the Hoop N Surf, beating Finlandia (Mich.) 90-54 and falling to Wheaton (Mass.) 67-59.
Saturday's slate begins with a 1 p.m. women's game between Morningside and Peru State. The men's teams from those two schools do battle at 3 o'clock while the Briar Cliff and Haskell Indian Nations women play at 5:30 and Briar Cliff and Bellevue clash at 7:30.
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