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Saints
prepare for the postseason
Article courtesy of the Rutland Herald (By Tom Haley –
March
7, 2008 edition)
Out in Nebraska near
the South Dakota border sits the little campus of Bellevue
University with its 550 students, not so very different in
size from College of St. Joseph.
When it comes to the brackets for the NAIA Division II
men's basketball tournament, though, the schools are as
far apart as you can get. Bellevue is ranked No. 1 and CSJ
32nd team in the 32-team tournament. CSJ clashes with the
Bruins next Wednesday at noon in Branson, Mo.
When the days mount in March, the teams still fortunate
enough and good enough to still be playing are few. Count
the Middlebury and College of St. Joseph among them.
Both CSJ and Middlebury have big challenges.
Bellevue is 29-3 and won the Midlands Collegiate Athletic
Conference tournament. They have six seniors returning
from a team that went 31-1 last year before bowing out in
the second round of the national tournament. Last year the
Bruins defeated Fisher College, the champions of CSJ's
conference (Sunrise Conference), 95-54 in the opening
round.
The Bruins make their living off rebounding and defense.
They limit opponents to 61 points per game, ranking them
fourth nationally in scoring defense. They are averaging
10 rebounds a game more than their opponent.
"They are not really, really huge which is good, because
we aren't," College of St. Joseph coach Jim Graffam said.
The Bruins' tallest player is 6-foot-4, although they have
four at that height.
"The main thing is to hang with them," Graffam said. "You
can't get behind a good team early."
The Fighting Saints feature Rui Carmo, who is scoring 19.7
points per game. Rich Ortega follows at 14.7 points per
game and Tyler Herrington at 10.4. Carmo has 13
double-doubles, Ortega seven and Herrington four.
"Everyone is healthy. We've got a game plan and if we
execute it, we'll be all set," Graffam said.
The Saints fly out of Albany, N.Y., Monday at 5 p.m. and
land in Tulsa, Okla., where they will have a four-hour bus
ride to the tournament site.
Contact Tom Haley at
tom.haley@rutlandherald.com |
