March 25, 2007
Miracle finish upends top-ranked, undefeated Winona State.
SPRINGFIELD , MA – David slew Goliath! And now, EVERYONE believes!
The Barton College men's basketball team never lost faith Saturday afternoon and mounted a miraculous, improbable comeback from seven points behind in the final 40 seconds to claim the NCAA D-II National Championship with one of the most thrilling finishes in history!
Senior All-America point guard Anthony Atkinson scored the Bulldogs' final 10 points as Barton roared back to claim a 77-75 victory over top-ranked Winona State.
In Hoosiers-like fashion, Barton, a school with less than 1,000 students, took down teams with 23,000 (Grand Valley State, MI), 17, 000 (Cal State San Bernardino) and 8,000 students (Winona State) during the Elite Eight to claim the school's first NCAA championship in any sport.
Barton, ranked 15 th nationally, finished the season with a school-best 31-5 record while winning its last 21 games (another school record). Winona State wound up 35-1.
Down 74-67 to Winona State , the defending national champs and winners of 57 straight games, the Bulldogs did not panic, especially Atkinson.
While Winona State thought Barton's slingshot may have been empty, the Bulldogs — just like they have all year — believed, and it paid off again. Read more…
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March 24, 2007
Barton takes on defending champ Winona State today for NCAA D-II title!
SPRINGFIELD, MA — Does the slingshot still have a few pebbles in it?
We'll see today when Barton College (David) takes on Winona State University (Goliath) in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship game in the MassMutual Center here in the birthplace of basketball.
Barton is 30-5 and has won 20 straight games. The Bulldogs are ranked 15th nationally. Top-ranked Winona State (35-0) is the king of D-II, having won 57 straight games (an NCAA D-II record), including last year's National Championship.
Tip-off is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. on CBS television.
The Warriors' run to the national title last season including an 86-78 overtime win over Barton in the Elite Eight quarterfinals. Since that time, Barton has shattered every OT record in NCAA history by going 9-0 in overtimes, including an 83-81 OT conquest of Grand Valley State (MI) in Wednesday's quarterfinal.
Just how have the little guys from Wilson become the first Barton team to play 1 vs. 1 for a national championship? By beating the big boys. Read more…
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March 21, 2007
Click here to see game-day photos by Richard Orr.
SPRINGFIELD, MA — All-America senior point guard Anthony Atkinson dribbled the length of the court with 4.2 seconds left and swished a buzzer-beating, NBA-range 3-pointer Wednesday afternoon to send Barton College into the NCAA D-II Men's Basketball Elite Eight semifinals with a miraculous 83-81 conquest of Grand Valley State University.
The Bulldogs improved to 9-0 in overtimes, an all-time, all-divisions NCAA record. No team in NCAA history had ever played nine OT games in a single season before, nevertheless won them all. Barton also set a school record for wins. Both the nationally 15th-ranked Bulldogs and Lakers stand 29-5. Barton has won its last 19 games and 24 of its last 25 and will play again at 6 p.m. Thursday vs. Cal State San Bernadino, who beat Wingate.
GVSU, ranked 7th nationally, scored off an inbounds play to take the lead at 81-80 with 4.2 showing in OT. Eleventh-year Barton head coach Ron Lievense called timeout and got down on his knees to diagram the would-be winning play. Read more…
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March 21, 2007
The Barton College men's basketball team has practiced in the MassMutual Center, has been introduced to local and state dignitaries, has visited the Shriner's Hospital to play with the children there, has been interviewed by numerous media and has participated in the lavish NCAA D-II Elite Eight Men's Basketball Tournament banquet in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Now, it's time to get down to the business of playing basketball and trying to win the school's first NCAA Championship in any sport.
The 28-5 Bulldogs, CVAC and East Region champs and winners of 18 straight games, will take on the Grand Valley State Lakers, who are 29-4 and champs of the Great Lakes Regional, in the Elite Eight's opening game at noon today in the MassMutual Center, located in the birthplace of basketball, Springfield, MA.
Barton is making its second straight Elite Eight appearance, having lost in OT last season in the quarterfinals to eventual champ Winona State, who has now won a record 55 straight games. This is Grand Valley's first Elite Eight appearance. Read more…
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March 15, 2007
Fans of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight-bound Barton College men's basketball team won't have to travel to Springfield, Mass., to follow their Bulldogs. All Barton games in the Elite Eight will be broadcast on WZAX-99.3 FM live from the MassMutual Center.
Handling the play-by-play will be veteran broadcaster Alton Britt, "The Voice of Wilson Sports," while Barton sports information director John Hackney will add color commentary. The Bulldogs' game against Grand Valley State (Mich.) on Wednesday, March 21, will tip off at noon, but the pregame show will commence at 11:30 a.m. There will be a webcast at http://www.cstv.com/ncaa/divii/. If the Bulldogs continue into Thursday's second-round game, the ZAX 99.3 radio broadcast will hit the air at 6:40 p.m. Saturday's championship game is pegged for a 1 p.m. tip-off and Britt will sign on from Springfield at 12:30 p.m. While the first-round games are not available live in any media, the remainder of the Elite Eight will be on television and the internet. Thursday's semifinals will be aired by CSTV, while a Web cast can be seen at www.ncaasports.com/dii. Saturday's final is being broadcast by CBS but there will also be a Web cast at the address above.
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March 13, 2007
The Bulldogs are going back to Springfield !
The Barton College men's basketball team ran its win streak to 18 games Tuesday night as it seized its second straight NCAA East Regional Basketball Tournament Championship 76-65 over Millersville.
Barton raised its record to 28-5, equaling the school record for wins set last year, when the Bulldogs advanced to the Elite Eight and finished with a 28-4 overall mark.
Barton, which has won the last two Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference regular-season and tournament titles as well, will take a sparkling 56-9 record over the last two seasons to the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, MA, where it will face Great Lakes Region champ Grand Valley State (28-4) at noon, Wednesday, March 21.
Barton, ranked 15 th nationally, had a real battle on its hands Tuesday night with 12 th -ranked Millersville, champs of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference. Barton was seeded first and the Marauders were third.
Millersville raced to a 37-28 lead with 1:51 left in the first half behind the play of all-tournament selections Greg Testa, a senior point guard, and Charlie Parker, a junior guard, but the Bulldogs rallied within 37-34 at halftime on three foul shots and a 3-pointer by senior 6-7 forward Alejo Barovero. Read more…
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