2015 (2015) NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
Teams32
Finals siteKeeter Gymnasium
Point Lookout, Missouri
ChampionsCornerstone Golden Eagles (3rd title, 3rd title game,
6th Fab Four)
Runner-upDakota Wesleyan Tigers (1st title game,
1st Fab Four)
Semifinalists
Charles Stevenson
Hustle Award
Luke Bamberg (Dakota Wesleyan)
Chuck Taylor MVPKyle Steigenga (Cornerstone)
Top scorerJalen Voss (Dakota Wesleyan)
(106 points)
NAIA Division II
men's tournaments
«2014 2016»

The 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game was won by Cornerstone University of Grand Rapids, Michigan over Dakota Wesleyan University of Mitchell, South Dakota by a score of 66 to 45.[1]

Tournament field

The 2015 tournament field was announced on March 14 in a live selection show. The field is made up of 23 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large bids and one automatic host bid presented to College of the Ozarks. This tournament field welcomed the return of four out of the last five champions, led by defending champion and top seed Indiana Wesleyan University along with Cardinal Stritch, Cornerstone, and Saint Francis.[2] There were four newcomers to the bracket, Brescia, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene and St. Francis of Illinois.

The complete field consists of Ashford, Bellevue, Bethel, Brescia, Briar Cliff, Cal Maritime, Cardinal Stritch, Concordia, Cornerstone, Dakota State, Davenport, Embry-Riddle, Friends, Grace, College of Idaho, Indiana University East, Indiana Wesleyan, Midland, Milligan, Morningside, Mount Mercy, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene, College of the Ozarks, Saint Francis, Saint Thomas, Southern Oregon, Tabor, Union, and Warner Pacific.[3]

Highlights

Fab Four

The fifth ranked Dakota Wesleyan Tigers came back from a twelve point deficit to defeat the College of Idaho Yotes 88-80 and advance to the NAIA championship game.[4] On the other side of the bracket, Davenport hit three free throws in the final six seconds to secure a 79-75 win over defending champion Indiana Wesleyan.[5]

Championship game

Cornerstone won their third national championship, defeating Dakota Wesleyan 66-45 behind a twenty-four point performance by Ben Lanning.[6]

Tourney awards and honors

  • Dr. James Naismith/Emil Liston Team Sportsmanship Award: Southern Oregon

Individual recognition

  • Most Outstanding Player: Dominez Burnett, Davenport[7]
  • Championship Hustle Award: Luke Bamberg, Dakota Wesleyan[8]
  • NABC/NAIA Division II Coach of the Year: Kim Elders, Cornerstone[9]
  • Rawlings-NAIA Division II National Coach of the Year: Matt Wilber, Dakota Wesleyan[10][11]
  • 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-Championship Team[12]
NameSchool
Dominez Burnett*Davenport
Bishop RobinsonDavenport
Trae BerghDakota Wesleyan
Jalen VossDakota Wesleyan
Kris MenningDakota Wesleyan
Ben LanningCornerstone
Travis WellsCornerstone
DeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle
Cesar PastranaEmbry-Riddle
Dalton BarnesEmbry-Riddle

Statistical leaders

(minimum 4 games)[13]

CategoryPlayerSchoolTally
Most pointsJalen VossDakota Wesleyan106
Most points per gameDominez BurnettDavenport21.25
Leading rebounderBen LanningCornerstone59
Leading rebounder per gameBen LanningCornerstone11.8
Most assistsDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle45
Assists per gameDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle11.25
Assist/Turnover ratioMartin TateDakota Wesleyan5.33
Three-pointers madeTrae BerghDakota Wesleyan16
Best overall field goal percentageCesar PastranaEmbry-Riddle71.4% (25-35)
Best 3-point field goal percentageDominez BurnettDavenport77.8% (7-9)
Most free throws madeCesar Pastrana (Tie)Embry-Riddle24
Most free throws madeKyle Steigenga (Tie)Cornerstone24
Best free throw percentageTy MasonCornerstone92.9% (13-14)
Most stealsDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle21
Most steals per gameDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle5.25
Most shots blockedBen LanningCornerstone7
Most shots blocked per gameBen LanningCornerstone1.4

Bracket

First round
March 11–12 		Second round
March 13 		Quarterfinals
March 14 		Semifinals
March 16 		National championship
March 17
               
1 Indiana Wesleyan 77
Brescia 56
1 Indiana Wesleyan 79
16 Warner Pacific 71
16 Warner Pacific 79
Olivet Nazarene 54
1 Indiana Wesleyan 75
8 Davenport[14] 79
9 Mount Mercy 64
Cal Maritime 61
9 Mount Mercy 67
8 Davenport 70
8 Davenport 68
Briar Cliff 66
8 Davenport 51
5 Dakota Wesleyan 80
5 Dakota Wesleyan 98
Milligan 55
5 Dakota Wesleyan 65
Ashford 49
12 Bethel 57
Ashford 83
5 Dakota Wesleyan 88
4 College of Idaho 80
13 College of the Ozarks 69
Cardinal Stritch 78
Cardinal Stritch 80
4 College of Idaho 99
4 College of Idaho 65
Dakota State 64
5 Dakota Wesleyan 45
3 Cornerstone 66
3 Cornerstone 74
St. Thomas 58
3 Cornerstone 97
14 Concordia 78
14 Concordia 116
Indiana University East 90
3 Cornerstone 75
11 Saint Francis (Ind.) 64
11 Saint Francis (Ind.) 70
Saint Francis (Ill.) 68
11 Saint Francis 72
6 Morningside 70
6 Morningside 86
Tabor 79
3 Cornerstone 91
2 Embry-Riddle[15] 81
7 Bellevue 50
Grace 54
Grace 62
Southern Oregon 68
10 Midland 71
Southern Oregon 73
Southern Oregon 71
2 Embry-Riddle 79
15 Union 64
Northwestern Ohio 58
15 Union 75
2 Embry-Riddle 89
2 Embry-Riddle 76
Friends 47

[16]

Epilogue

When the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams, almost all the players were represented at the national tournament, with a few notable exceptions including Lawrence Jackson of Northwestern Ohio, Jordan Nelson of Waldorf, Andre Winston of Southeastern.

NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams

1st Team

NameSchoolHometown
Dominez Burnett*DavenportFlint, Michigan
DeForest CarterEmbry-RiddleBig Cypress, Florida
Grant GreenbergSaint MaryLeavenworth, Kansas
Johnny MarlinIndiana WesleyanGreenwood, Indiana
Steve O’NeillMorningsideCouncil Bluffs, Iowa
Matt SchaussBethelGreens Fork, Indiana
Tony SmitCardinal StritchFond du Lac, Wisconsin
Kyle SteigengaCornerstoneHolland, Michigan
Jalen VossDakota WesleyanWorthington, Minnesota
Josh WilsonCollege of IdahoLos Angeles, California
  • - denotes NAIA/NABC Player of the Year

2nd Team

NameSchoolHometown
Lawrence JacksonNorthwestern, OhioRocky Mount, North Carolina
Jordan NelsonWaldorfNeenah, Wisconsin
Dondre OsbornMount MercyZion, Illinois
Demetrius PerkinsCollege of IdahoCompton, California
Tobin ReinwaldHastingsLincoln, Nebraska
Alex StarkelMidlandNorfolk, Nebraska
Zach SteinmetzLourdesToledo, Ohio
Tim WeberSouthern OregonRoseburg, Oregon
Andre WinstonSoutheasternTacoma, Washington
Clay YeoBethelBourbon, Indiana

3rd Team

NameSchoolHometown
Brandon ColeBryanCrossville, Tennessee
Brandon EleyAIBZearing, Iowa
Austin FoxSaint Francis (Ind)Muncie, Indiana
Ilya IlyayevSaint Francis (Ill)Los Angeles, California
Aaron LarsonOlivet NazareneTolono, Illinois
Alex StarkelMidlandNorfolk, Nebraska
Ben LenningCornerstoneGrandville, Michigan
Kris MenningDakota WesleyanCorsica, South Dakota
Austin MorrisBresciaEvansville, Indiana
Brequan TuckerJamestownJoliet, Illinois

Honorable Mention

NameSchoolHometown
Bryant AllenDakota StateMaplewood, Missouri
Trey BardsleyNebraska WesleyanBeatrice, Nebraska
Cameron ClarkSouthwesternLewisville, Texas
Derek DanielsCollege of the OzarksMountain View, Missouri
Jeremy ComerPresentationIndianapolis, Indiana
Nick FrazierSt. AmbroseBellwood, Illinois
Warren HallWarner (Fla.)Tampa, Florida
Logan IrwinGrace (Ind.)South Whitley, Indiana
Deante JohnsonUnion College (Kentucky)Cincinnati, Ohio
Jack KriegerSaint Xavier (Illinois)Plainfield, Illinois
Percy LemleBellevue (Nebraska)Carson, California
Gabriel MartinezNorthern New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Alex MarzetteRobert Morris (Ill.)Racine, Wisconsin
Fredricus MattisonNorthwood (Fla.)Anderson, South Carolina
Diamontae McKinleyAshford (Iowa)Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Esvan MiddletonConcordia (Oregon)Culver City, California
Cesar PastranaEmbry-Riddle (Florida)Cartagena, Colombia
Nathan RindelsDordt (Iowa)Boulder, Colorado
Alec SchwabWilliam Penn (Iowa)Peru, Illinois
Trey ScottWaldorf (Iowa)Fridley, Minnesota
Jake SimpsonIndiana University SoutheastLouisville, Kentucky
Dion SmithMarian (Ind.)Indianapolis, Ind.
Andrew ThomasTabor (Kansas)Grenada
Eric ThompsonSouthern OregonRoseburg, Oregon
Jerah’me WilliamsPoint Park (Pa.)Youngstown, Ohio

[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cornerstone wins NAIA DII national championship". Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  2. ↑ "2015 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Qualifiers Announced". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ "College of the Ozarks Presents the NAIA Division II Men's National Basketball Championship". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Dakota Wesleyan advances to NAIA semifinal". March 15, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Indiana Wesleyan falls to Davenport in quarterfinals". March 17, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Cornerstone Defeats Dakota Wesleyan In Championship Game". March 17, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dominez Burnett named NABC 2015 NAIA DII Coaches' Player of the Year". March 31, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  8. ↑ Fisher, Rod (March 18, 2015). "DWU Falls Short in NAIA Title Game". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  9. ↑ "NABC UPS National Coaches of the Year announced". March 31, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Rawlings-NAIA National Basketball Coach of the Year". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  11. ↑ Hodge, Garrick (March 17, 2015). "Wilber honored, thanks seniors for memorable season". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ "2015 All-Tournament Team". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ "2014-15 NAIA Div II Men's National Championship Individual Stats". dakstats. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Fab Four Bound! No. 8 Davenport men's basketball hangs on to upset No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan". Michigan Live. March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ "ESPN3 Stream 2015 NAIA DII Men's Basketball Final".
  16. ↑ "Bracket". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Dominez Burnett Named NABC-NAIA Division II National Player of the Year". March 19, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
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