COLUMBIA, S.C. — What a difference three-and-a-half months make.

After holding on for a 67-65 win over Voorhees on Nov. 20 at the Raleigh County Armory, the Mountain State Cougars were clicking on all cylinders in the NAIA Independent Regional rematch with the Tigers Saturday.

Five players scored in double figures as the Cougars roared to a 107-80 victory. It was the Cougars’ third straight game scoring over 100 points and their ninth time topping the century mark for the season.

After a somewhat slow start — 4-2 nearly five minutes into the game — MSU got rolling and never stopped.

The Cougars went on a 32-15 run and ended up leading 48-24 at the break.

“The first five minutes was slow, but we really got on a nice roll thanks to our defense,” Mountain State coach Bob Bolen said. “I thought we really played a tremendous first half.”

It got even more one-sided in the second half as Mountain State blazed the nets to the tune of 71 percent, 22-of-31 from the field, and led by as many as 32 before settling for the 27-point win.

Aaron Owens’ three-pointer pushed MSU over the century mark.

Mountain State ended up shooting 66 percent for the game and held a 30-19 edge on the boards.

“We really shot the ball well and beat a very good basketball team,” Bolen said. “We handled their pressure well and that’s why it ended up being a high-scoring game.”

Both teams shot the ball well from long range. The Tigers went 13-of-23 while MSU was 11-of-19.

NAIA No. 4 MSU (27-4) beat Voorhees 104-103 in the region final last year.

Paul Wright, one of five Cougars in double figures, led MSU with 24 points and Tyrice Watkins added 21. Watkins also had a team-high nine rebounds and went 8-of-9 shooting from the floor. Ralph Legg tallied 19 with five assists, Jarvis Jackson had 13 points and five assists and Yusuf Baker had 10. Baker also had two blocked shots, giving him 63 for the season, one off the team record set by Zach Moss in 2004.

Horace Cofield had 20 points, including five three-pointers for Voorhees. Antonio Bolton added 17 points and Derrick Williams had 10.

That sets up a Top 10 matchup today for the Independent Region title with No. 9 Park University, which beat upstart Allen Saturday night.

Park (23-6) has five players who average in double figures.

“They’re having their best season in school history,” Bolen said. “They are a legitimate Top 10 team and a national championship-caliber contender. We’ll have our hands full playing them, that’s for sure.”

Tipoff for today’s championship is 4:30 p.m. at Benedict College in Columbia.



MSU 107, VOORHEES 80

VOORHEES (15-8) 

Horace Cofield 6-11 3-4 20, Vern Alonzo 2-3 0-0 2, Terrance Woodbury 1-4 0-0 2, Antonio Bolton 6-1 1-2 17, Justin Willingham 1-3 0-0 3, Antonio Simpson 0-2 0-0 0, Derrick Williams 2-3 4-4 10, Everett Pace 1-2 0-0 2, Albert Crumbley 2-6 3-4 7, Corey Mikel 2-5 3-3 7, Jason Clarke 2-2 0-0 4, Jerrell Wilburn 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 27-56 13-16 80.

MSU (27-4) 

Tyrice Watkins 8-9 2-3 21, Yusuf Baker 3-7 4-4 10, Ralph Legg 7-10 3-4 19, Adron Marshall 3-6 0-0 6, Paul Wright 9-13 1-2 24, Emmanuel Coulibaly 0-0 0-0 0, Tony Fox 0-0 0-0 0, Jarvis Jackson 6-10 1-1 13, Aaron Owens 1-1 1-2 4, Papa Gassama 1-1 0-0 2, Ermin Tarcin 3-5 2-2 8. Totals 41-62 14-18 107.

Halftime—MSU 48-24. 3-Point Goals—Voorhees 13-23 (Cofield 5-8, Bolton 4-8, Willingham 1-1, Williams 2-3, Mikel 1-2), MSU 11-19 (Watkins 3-3, Legg 2-5, Wright 5-9, Jackson 0-1, Owens 1-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Voorhees 19 (Alonzo, Woodbury 4), MSU 30 (Watkins 9). Assists—Voorhees 18 (Cofield 6), MSU (Legg, Jackson 5). Total Fouls—Voorhees 13, MSU 15.