Looking to wrap up the final week of the regular season on a high note, Mountain State University handled its business Tuesday night.

Despite playing a slowed-down version of their typically breakneck offensive pace, the Cougars cruised by Emmanuel (Ga.) College 66-55 at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

NAIA Division I No. 9-ranked MSU raises its record to 22-7, while Emmanuel falls to 17-12.

“We have to learn how to play in games like that and we need to learn to win games like that if we’re going to the national tournament,” said MSU coach Bob Bolen. “We knew coming in what it was going to be like. You just can’t speed (Emmanuel) up. They’re very patient. But I thought we played tremendous defense.”

MSU held the Lions to just 25 percent shooting for the contest, as Emmanuel connected on just 18 of 72 field goal attempts.

“We took 20 more shots than (MSU),” said Emmanuel fifth-year coach T.J. Rosene, who has led the Lions to three consecutive 20-win seasons prior to this season. “We did what we needed to do. But you have to hand it to them. (MSU) has a lot more firepower than we do.”

MSU led just 27-20 at halftime.

Emmanuel went on a 7-2 run to open the second half, but the Cougars answered with a 10-0 spurt of its own.

But it wasn’t until a 12-2 late second-half run, a four-minute span in which MSU held Emmanuel without a field goal, that the Cougars took absolute control.

“We just needed to take our time on offense and get in a flow,” explained MSU junior forward Isaiah Hill, who scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds while adding four blocks, three assists and two steals. “We’re improving every game, every practice. We have a lot of confidence and we trust each other.”

Senior guard Cam Miller tallied 16 points for MSU with junior guard Chris Price coming off the bench to contribute 10.

Emmanuel got 18 points from Graham Maxwell, and 10 apiece from Isaiah Tyus and Asmatiek Fields.

Emmanuel, based in Franklin Springs, Ga., competes in what is probably one of the toughest conferences in NAIA. It shares a place in the Southern States Athletic Conference with three nationally ranked squads — No. 1 Shorter (Ga.) University (26-2), No. 4 Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) University (22-5) and No. 14 Lee (Tenn.) University (19-6) — all in the league’s East Division.

“We play one of the toughest leagues in the country,” Rosene said. “Mountain State is as good as anybody. They have a chance to win the whole thing. They’re capable of putting it together.

“They’ve improved as the year has gone on. I think they’re ready now to make a run.”

MSU boasts the longest active stretch of consecutive rankings in the NAIA D-I poll with 143 straight weeks.

MSU will finish the regular season with Senior Day at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center at 4 p.m. Saturday when the Cougars host Allen (Columbia, S.C.) University.

The Cougars will find out the seedings for the NAIA regional tournament Sunday night.

The six-team regional is held in Marietta, Ga.

The Nos. 1 and 2 seeds will get a bye.

MSU is expected to make the regional field, receive a bye and play its first postseason contest the weekend of March 3-4.

— E-mail: jworkman@register-herald.com



NO. 9 MOUNTAIN STATE 66, EMMANUEL 55

EMMANUEL (17-12)

Miller 0-6 0-0 0, Tyus 4-12 0-0 10, Maxwell 6-16 4-4 18, McCrary 1-9 0-0 2, Fields 3-9 4-6 10, Burgess 2-7 2-3 7, Tew 0-2 0-0 0, Holder 1-2 2-2 4, Luano 0-4 0-0 0, Pennerat 1-2 0-0 2, Callaway 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 18-72 14-17 55.

MOUNTAIN STATE (22-7)

Peterson 0-3 2-4 2, Miller 4-12 8-10 16, Williams 1-4 1-2 4, Hill 7-14 6-10 20, Nyarsuk 3-5 1-1 7, Price 4-7 2-3 10, Ogunnuyi 0-1 0-0 0, Drungys 0-0 0-0 0, Komakech 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 3-6 1-2 7. Totals 22-52 21-32 66.

Halftime—MSU 27-20. 3-Point Goals—Emmanuel 5-25 (Tyus 2-6, Maxwell 2-8, Fields 0-3, Burgess 1-3); MSU 1-11 (Williams 1-4, Miller 0-5, Hill 0-1, Ogunnuyi 0-1). Fouled Out—McCrary. Rebounds—Emmanuel 47 (McCrary 8, Fields 8); MSU 46 (Hill 12). Assists—Emmanuel 7 (Maxwell 4); MSU 15 (Williams 8). Total Fouls—Emmanuel 25; MSU 18.