I. Tops End UNO's Tumultuous Season, 80-61
Hurricane Katrina, the subsequent displacement from their campus, and star PG Bo McCalebb's torn ACL turned a once-promising Privateer season into a arduous affair that ended today in Murfreesboro, TN. Western Kentucky used superior depth and some excellent bench play to cruise past UNO in the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals. Topper swingman Courtney Lee played with a heavily-bandaged left hand, but still managed to make four triples and lead all scorers with 19 points while adding 3 rebs, 5 ast, and 4 steals. Belt POY Anthony Winchester took just seven shots and scored only seven points, but Topper guard Ty Rogers picked up the scoring slack by going 4-4 from long range and scoring 15 points. Benson Callier added 11 and reserve F Mike Walker chipped in with eight. The Toppers also fetched 16 of their 29 misses leading to 24 2nd-chance points. No Topper played more than 29 minutes which should leave them well-rested for tomorrow night's game with the winner of tonight's nightcap between Troy and UL-Lafayette. UNO deserves a lot of credit for the grit and determination they showed all season under extremely difficult circumstances. Better things are in store in the near future for UNO.
II. Two More Bids
Congrats to these automatic qualifiers:
Southern: Davidson (making amends for last year's loss in the conf tourney after steamrolling the conference for a 16-0 record during the 04-05 regular season)
Missouri Valley: Southern Illinois (at least one MVC team does not have to worry about their Bubble status)
III. The One Stop Shop has been updated through games completed at 7:45 pm CT tonight.
