Published: January 03, 2009 11:55 pm      

MSU rolls by Lindsey Wilson

Five from MSU score in double figures in victory

Mountain State didn’t score 100 against Lindsey Wilson Saturday at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

But coach Bob Bolen will take the 92.

Mountain State went on a 20-0 run late in the game to put away the Blue Raiders 92-73 in a matchup of NAIA Top 25 teams.

It was the first time MSU hasn’t topped 100 points in 10 games at the BRCCC.

MSU (12-1) now has two days to get ready for the Cumberlands, the only blemish on the Cougars’ 2008-09 record.

And MSU will likely enter the game as the No. 1 team in the nation after the Cumberlands lost to Bellarmine last week.

Not that keeping on track for the top spot was easy. Lindsey Wilson (11-2) never quit, and after trailing by as many as 19, cut the lead to six, 68-62, with just over 10 minutes remaining.

The turnaround came when MSU point guard Tony Brown was hit with a questionable technical foul with the Cougars up 63-46.

The Blue Raiders then went on a 16-5 run, capped by back-to-back threes by Eric McPherson (game-high 36 points).

“The only thing I said was ‘ref’ and (the official) told me not to talk to him when he had his whistle in his mouth,” Brown said. “I felt bad about it. It hurt us at the time. It gave them the momentum back.”

But Bolen quickly turned the tide when he called a well-placed timeout.

“I can’t really say what he told us,” Brown said. “Let’s just say he told us to start playing hard, like we did earlier in the game, and if we wanted to win this game, in our house, we had better start picking it up.”

“The momentum had definitely switched to their advantage,” Bolen said. “But I thought our guys regrouped and refocused well.”

Bo Harris (11 points, nine rebounds) started the MSU landslide on the Blue Raiders with two quick baskets, Brown rebounded from his technical with a three-pointer and Harris hit another shot in the post. Ermin Tarcin had three baskets, Brown another three and a deuce, and Andrew Lee finished off the run with an emphatic dunk to give MSU an 88-62 lead with 4:45 remaining.

“First of all, (Bolen) has a great team,” Lindsey Wilson’s Paul Peck said. “That timeout he called was perfect. We were excited to be back in the game. But then we started rushing things. Our first possession (after the timeout) we had one pass and then a shot and Harris scores. The next possession our kid tries to go to the basket and we have a turnover and Harris scores again. Then we have another one-pass-and-shot and Brown makes a big three. So instead of it being a two-possession game, all of a sudden it’s a 13-point game in one minute.”

MSU had a field day in the paint. Centers Tarcin and Nick Aldridge had a combined 33 points and 14 rebounds. Tarcin had a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds and Aldridge, the Western Carolina transfer, had 13 and seven.

MSU had 17 offensive boards and caused 24 Lindsey Wilson turnovers.

“I told you I like big games,” Tarcin said. “After I got that first basket (off the opening tip) and then hit a three, it felt like everything was going in.”

“I told our players before the game that nobody was going to work harder on the court than Tarcin,” Peck said. “If he has to dive on the floor or bite you on the leg, he’s going to do whatever it takes. Our post players did a terrible job on him.”

Lindsey was without 6-foot-10 Pako Brown, who was serving a one-game suspension for violating team rules.

“When Ermin came to us four years ago, he couldn’t touch the rim,” Bolen said. “I think all those one-on-one sessions with coach (Dave) Barksdale paid off. He showed some strong post moves today.”

Brown led MSU with 24 points and was one of five players in double figures. Andrew Lee and Harris had 11 points each.

“Tony Brown hit some big shots when the game was close,” Bolen said. “I thought he did an outstanding job.”

“I was just taking what the defense gave me,” Brown said. “We have so many guys who can score. What I got was basically off reading their defense.”

Now MSU has a chance at revenge against Cumberlands, which beat the Cougars 89-73 Nov. 20.

“I thought we had a chance to beat them down there, but we played a terrible game,” Brown said. “We have to get ready and do the job at our place.”

NOTES: Lindsey Wilson entered the game ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in scoring defense, giving up just 53 points per game ... Hooters Girls Stephanie Hubbard, Angela Goddard, Summer Wyatt and Olivia Berkel passed out shirts and basketballs to some of the 1,173 fans in attendance ... MSU shot a porous 9-of-23 from the free throw line, including 4-of-12 in the second half (33 percent) ... Aldridge has scored 13 points in all three of his games since becoming eligible for the second semester ... MSU has now won seven straight.



No. 21 LINDSEY WILSON (11-2)

Quintez Thomas 2-8 1-2 6, Andrija Tintor 0-4 0-0 0, Jeff Vories 0-0 0-0 0, Eric McPherson 12-19 8-9 36, Sam Walton 4-5 3-5 11, Jeremiah Diebler 2-6 0-0 5, Tim Parker 1-7 2-2 5, Joshua Cherry 2-3 0-0 4, Chase Spreen 0-2 0-0 0, Ismar Neto 1-5 2-2 4, Cedric Houston 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-62 16-20 73.

No. 1 MOUNTAIN STATE (12-1)

Anthony Pigram 3-9 1-2 7, Tony Brown 9-15 2-4 24, Andrew Lee 5-10 0-0 11, Bo Harris 5-10 0-3 11 Ermin Tarcin 8-11 3-7 20, Marcus Hunter 1-5 0-0 2, Daniel Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Aldridge 5-10 3-6 13, Vedrin Zivic 0-0 0-0 0, Greg Grimes 2-4 0-1 4, Franklin Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-74 9-23 92.

Halftime—MSU 51-34. 3-Point Goals—Lindsey 7-23 (JThomas 1-4, McPherson 4-8, Diebler 1-4, Parker 1-5, Spreen 0-1, Neto 0-1); Mountain St. 7-20 (Pigram 0-3, Brown 4-9, Lee 1-1, Harris 1-4, Tarcin 1-1, Hunter 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Lindsey 40 (Walton 8); Mountain St. 43 (Harris 9, Lee 8). Assists—Lindsey 11 (Thomas 5); Mountain St. 18 (Lee 5, Harris 5). Total Fouls—Lindsey 20; Mountain St. 19. A—1,173.