Lipscomb University - Backlog Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

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| don’t feel like a most valuable player. This was a team thing. John Kimbrell after receiving the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament. 18 NAIA Championship The Dream, cont. ‘“‘We were forcing our shots,’’ said Jones, who fin- ished with 12 points and earned second-team all- tournament honors. ‘Coa- ch Meyer stressed that we should be more patient. We had been taking those same shots the last couple of games, but they were fall- ing in then.” ‘“Arkansas-Monticello was very deliberate with the ball, and we weren’t getting that many possessions. | think the fact we won our other games by so many points made us a little impatient.” “They did a good job of taking the ball away from us in the first half,’’ Martello said. It was a tactic that con- tributed to seven Bison turnovers in the first half. “We had been working on putting the ball under our chin and protecting it. We knew they could jump high- er that anyone we had faced,’’ said John Kimbrell, who finished with a game- leading 22 points and 11 rebounds. Led by the tournament’s most valuable player, se- nior All-American Kimbrell, the Bisons swept their final games by an average of 13 points. It was a fitting end for a team built on the old- fashioned “work ethic,’ a team whose unselfishness and disciplined attitude Continued ... The team discusses strategy during a critical moment when the Bisons were behind.

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Dorothy might not have really seen the Emerald City and worn those ruby slippers, but the Bisons needed only to pinch themselves to realize the reality of The Dream in Kansas City 4.he Bisons entered the 49th NAIA National Tournament the eleventh seed and were crowned na- tional champions after five straight wins in Kansas City. “I don’t want these quys to ever forget who did this for them,” said Lipscomb Coach Don Meyer, whose team finished with a school record 35 wins and only four defeats. “None of them did it alone. Each one of their teammates is responsible for this title,’’ Meyer said. “You hated to see these guys lose any games this season because they’re such great people. It even hurts you to see them play badly. They deserved this championship,’’ Meyer said. Kansas City brought out the best in the Bisons, as they improved every game. It was an opportunity for the Bisons to showcase their team emphasis, and that is what they did. Anthony Jones and Chris Martello both came off the bench to spark the Bisons in their first two wins, over Minnesota-Duluth, 62-56, and Emporia (Kan.) State, 79-76. In the final three tourna- ment games, the Bisons used their depth and condi- tioning to wear down their opponents in the latter stages of the games and to coast to victory. The Bisons made it into the semi-finals with an 80- 64 win over Central Wash- ington. Lipscomb then be- came the only team in the toumament to score 100 points as they thrashed St. Thomas Aquinas 102-91 in a game not as close as the final score. For the first 20 minutes of the championship game, Meyer, the Bisons, and the fans were all in pain. The Bisons put in one of their worst first-halves of the year and went to the dress- ing room at halftime trailing Arkansa- Monticello by five. “Coach told us we would never play a first half that bad again,” Martello said. “He didn’t really give us any reasons for what we were doing; he just told us we were doing a terrible job and we couldn't play the same way in the second half.”’ The Bisons’ biggest ob- stacle to overcome was their poor perimeter shoot- ing. With outside shooters Jones, Greg Caudle and Richard Taylor struggling to find their range, the Bisons hit only 9 of 24 shots from the field for a 37.5 shooting percentage. They rebounded the sec- ond half to finish 25-of-51, 49 percent, from the field. The Bisons ended the sea- son shooting a blistering 58.8 percent, best in the na- tion for the second straight year.Continued ... With the Bisons behind at half-time of the championship game, the cheer- leaders have plenty to yell about. Caudle ... he’s on the breakaway ... gets a slam dunk! Well, it’s all over but the shouting, Jim. The fat lady is singing upstairs a little early ... it’s 61-46. Bob Jordan calling the championship game over the radio NAIA Championship 17

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Working to bring the Bisons within reach of the championship, John Kim- brell shoots over an Arkansas-Monti- cello player. Bisons! Bisons! Bison! 250 fans in Nashville's Metro Airport, welcoming home the championship team Two points are in the record book Despite Spring Break, fans followed for Tony Clanton as he reaches for the the team to Kansas City. goal. NAIA Championship 19