Sports

One and done

By Becky Brown ⋅ March 17, 2008 ⋅  Email this story ⋅  Print this story ⋅ Post a comment

NAIA Division II men’s basketball is comprised of 151 schools. Of the 32 participating teams that make the national tournament, one will end its season with a win. For the Saints, battling to be that one team left them four points short.

The Saints’ second round would prove to be their last when they took the court against top-ranked seed Bellevue. Aquinas would not end their fifth consecutive 20-win season without a fight, however. The Saints fought back a 12 point deficit in the first half by chiseling Bellevue’s lead down to six by halftime.

The Saints tied the game at 31 by scoring the first six points of the second half. The game was uncertain until a late field goal by the Bruins broke the tie at 61. With a 63-61 lead, Bellevue locked down their defense, holding on for a 65-61 win.

Senior Jeff Wierzbicki, in his last collegiate contest, led all scorers with 21 points. John Lierman added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Pedja Lazic added 13 points and James Telman had 11.

“Coming in to play the number one team, we wanted to play our game, try to limit their offense and open lanes for Lazic,” said sophomore forward Dave Baldwin.

To get to the second round, Aquinas received an at-large bid to the tournament, where they upset Dakota Wesleyan in the first round to earn their first national tournament victory for the men’s program. Aquinas was up by two with 38-36 lead at the half, but the Saints pulled ahead, unleashing 53 points on the Tigers in the eventual 91-66 win. Not for the first time this season, the Saints shot an extremely high percentage from the floor – 60 percent while making 15 of 22 three-point attempts.

“We were really well prepared for the game,” said Baldwin. “We watched a lot of film.

“We played our team defense really well and Telman and Lierman shot lights out in the second half.”

The offensive show was headlined by Telman, who made seven of 10 chances from beyond the arc and led all scorers with 30 points. Lierman was not too far behind with 26 points. Meanwhile, Lazic contributed 12 points and Wierzbicki added 11.

The Saints finished the season with a school record of 25 wins, their first ever national tournament victory, the WHAC regular season title and a 14th place national ranking. The Saints even broke a school record in a 97-58 win over the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Feb. 20, where they made 20 three-pointers.

Individually, Lazic was named WHAC Player of the Year, while Lierman joined him on All-WHAC first team. Wierzbicki and junior guard Jordan Torres represented the Saints on the All-WHAC defensive team. Wierzbicki was also named Aquinas’ Champion of Character as well as Academic All-WHAC. Head coach Dave Hammer was named Coach of the Year.

“We’re happy with the season as whole, but we’re not satisfied,” said Baldwin. “Our goal will be to make a long run in nationals next season.”

The Saints could potentially return their two first team starters, Lazic and Lierman, plus another starter, Torres, for the 2008-2009 season. Additionally, leaders off of the bench, red-shirt freshman guard Jason Fox, sophomore guard Matt McDonald and sophomore forward Dave Baldwin, could all return to next season’s Saints roster.

“We’re going to have really high expectations for next year,” said Baldwin. “Hammer is a great recruiter, and our high expectations won’t be from fans or media but from ourselves.”