Story published: Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
Jewell men knock out MNU
Andy Marso
The only good thing about MidAmerica Nazarene University's 80-72 loss Friday is that the Pioneers will have a chance to atone for it in the national tournament.
The loss was the Pioneers' first at home in two years, knocked them out of the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament and came at the hands of their archrivals, William Jewell College.
"If we're going to lose one, at least we lose one where it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference," MNU coach Rocky Lamar said. "We're still going to the tournament."
The Pioneers clinched their berth at nationals when they beat William Jewell last Saturday to earn the HAAC regular-season title. That left the Cardinals needing the win more Friday and they played like it from the beginning.
It was a bad sign when the MNU fans couldn't sit down for the first five minutes of the game.
The MNU faithful traditionally stand until the Pioneers score their first points, but it took much longer than usual and MNU fell behind 8-0 in the process. It was a complete reversal from last week's game, when MNU jumped out to a 13-3 lead.
"I'm kind of disappointed in the way we came out," Lamar said. "Maybe it was lack of preparation, but I don't think so. We knew exactly what they were going to do."
The Pioneers spent much of the first half chipping away. They made a run to tie it at 27-27 when Adam Hepker beat William Jewell's zone defense with a pass to Brandon Cameron for a 3-pointer.
Hepker had five assists in the first half and his backcourt mate, Brenton Bell, hit a number of mid-range jumpers and scored 12 points in the half. Bell finished with 21, matching Hepker for the team-high.
Despite solid production in the backcourt, the Pioneers never took the lead. After Cameron's 3 tied the game, the Cardinals made another run behind the perimeter shooting of Kyle Fisher and the penetration of Jordan Jamestown.
Jamestown, William Jewell's diminutive point guard, was a major thorn in the Pioneers' side. He flashed into the paint at will and led his team to 62 percent shooting in the first half.
"We wanted to make Jamestown hit shots and he did," Lamar said. "Even after we figured it out we didn't do a good job of defending him."
Jamestown, who finished with 21 points, made two off-balanced shots early in the second half and William Jewell pushed the lead to 52-40.
The Pioneers called timeout and came back with a renewed commitment to defense, holding William Jewell to one field goal in the next eight minutes. But they had trouble cutting into the lead with Bell and Hepker providing the only consistent scoring.
The Cardinals bumped and bodied All-American forward Danny Hawkins into 5-of-17 shooting, collapsing on him every time he touched the ball. MNU also shot a dismal 15-of-29 from the free throw line.
"The last two games we've been right at 50 percent," Lamar said of the free-throw shooting. "We've got to play better than that; that's all there is to it. Part of not being mentally ready is not being able to shoot free throws, so I think that's part of it."
The Pioneers will try to bounce back at the NAIA national championship tournament, which starts March 12 at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.
WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE 80, MIDAMERICA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY 72 William Jewell 20-12 (14-6 HAAC): Larry Mandacina 2-6 8-10 13, Phil Cantwell 0-4 1-2 1, Ryan Hintz 5-6 2-2 12, Kyle Fisher 10-15 5-9 27, Jordan Jamestown 8-14 5-11 21, Davey Krause 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Jonathan Benson 2-2 0-0 4, Alex Bernskoetter 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Poston 0-0 0-0 0, Kayron Parrish 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-51 21-34 80. MidAmerica Nazarene 28-4 (17-3 HAAC): Danny Hawkins 5-17 1-7 11, Adam Hepker 7-11 6-9 21, Brenton Bell 8-15 3-6 21, Austin Boots 2-5 0-0 5, Andrew Crotty 0-0 0-0 0, Vince Thompkins 1-3 2-2 4, Brandon Cameron 2-3 0-0 5, Ben Swinger 1-3 3-5 5, Brady Small 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 15-29 72. WJC 41 39 — 80 MNU 36 36 — 72 Three-pointers: WJC 3-5 (Fisher 2-2, Mandacina 1-2, Powell 0-1), MNU 5-15 (Bell 2-6, Cameron 1-2, Hepker 1-3, Boots 1-4). Rebounds: WJC 37 (Cantwell 7), MNU 36 (Hawkins 14). Assists: WJC 10 (Jamestown 4), MNU 11 (Hepker 5). Turnovers: WJC 10, MNU 10. Personal fouls: WJC 24, MNU 22.