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Rights Reserved-Hillsboro Globe, member Associated Press Mike Strasinger
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ASUN Championship, 2025
Rights Reserved-Hillsboro Globe, member Associated Press Mike Strasinger
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NASHVILLE (AP) — Hillsboro High School’s favorite neighbor is headed for the NCAA Basketball Tournament and the Burros, CorteZ Graham-Howard is headed to North Alabama next fall. Top-seeded Lipscomb University’s 76-65 win over North Alabama on Sunday to win the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship gave the Bisons an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Leading the Bison’s to the tournament, Joe Anderson scored 12 of his team-high 23 points in the final four minutes of the game.
The Bisons (25-9) finished tied with North Alabama (24-10) for the regular season championship with 14 wins and were the No. 1 tournament seed. Lipscomb needed overtime to get past sixth-seeded Queens in the semifinals The Lions were seeded second and beat fourth-seeded Jacksonville to reach the final.
Lipscomb, the No. 14 seed in the South Region, beat North Alabama 76-65 in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship game for its sixth consecutive victory. Ognacevic led Lipscomb to this point by averaging 20.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as the Atlantic Sun player of the year.
Jacari Lane’s jumper gave North Alabama the lead with 11:46 left and Donte Bacchus converted a three-point play for a 53-49 advantage. Jacob Ognacevic hit three of four free throws and Will Pruitt hit from 3 for a 55-53 lead and Gyasi Powell hit a 3 with 4:13 left to put Lipscomb in front for good.
Anderson hit from deep to make it 65-60 and Anderson hit from 3 in a 7-0 run to take a 10-point lead with 1:34 left and converted 3 of 4 from the line in the final minute.
Anderson was 6 of 9 from the field, including 4 of 7 from deep, and hit 7 of 8 from the line with four assists, two steals and three blocked shots to lead Lipscomb. Pruitt was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Powell hit 4 of 6 from 3-point range to add 16 points and Ognacevic had 14 points with nine rebounds.
Lane finished with 18 points and Corneilous Williams scored 15 points with seven rebounds to lead North Alabama. Will Soucie had 10 points with six boards and Taye Fields pulled down 12 rebounds to go with his six points.
Ognacevic’s return to play is quite the comeback for a guy who didn’t play at all last season due to a bone bruise in his right knee. The 6-foot-8 senior forward returned better than ever, posting career highs in virtually every statistical category.
“I think I’ve become a better passer,” Ognacevic said. “Two years ago, I didn’t really get any assists or anything. Now I can pass out of double-teams. I’m shooting the 3 ball better this year. I would say, too, my post-game has gotten better, attacking the hoop. I’ve gotten stronger since I last played two years ago.”
“I think every kid dreams of playing in the NCAA Tournament,” Ognacevic said. “Just being able to do that is going to be a dream come true.”
Ognacevic is one of several notable players from mid-major or low major programs who bear watching this week. Here’s a look at some others:
Nate Johnson, G, Akron
First-round game: Friday vs. Arizona in Seattle.
Notes: Johnson made a game-winning basket with 2 seconds left as Akron (28-6) rallied from an 18-point deficit in a 76-74 Mid-American Conference championship game victory over Miami (Ohio). That play highlighted a banner season for Johnson in which he was named the MAC’s overall player of the year and defensive player of the year. The 6-3 junior averages 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals.
Bez Mbeng, G, Yale
First-round game: Thursday vs. Texas A&M in Denver.
Notes: The 6-4 senior was selected as the Ivy League’s overall player of the year and defensive player of the year. It’s the second straight season in which he’s been named the league’s defensive player of the year. Mbeng has three triple-doubles this season for Yale (22-7). He’s averaging 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.9 steals. He had five steals in Yale’s NCAA Tournament first-round victory over Auburn last season.
Max Shulga, G, VCU
First-round game: Thursday vs. BYU in Denver.
Notes: Shulga, a 6-5 senior from Ukraine, was named the Atlantic 10 player of the year. This is his second season at VCU (28-6) after spending three years at Utah State. He has posted scoring averages in double figures each of the last three seasons. He’s averaging 15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4 assists this season.
Bennett Stirtz, G, Drake
First-round game: Thursday vs. Missouri in Wichita, Kansas.
Notes: When Drake hired coach Ben McCollum away from Northwest Missouri State, Stirtz was one of four players from the Division II program who followed him to his new school. Stirtz has produced better statistics at Drake (30-3): The 6-4 junior was an easy choice as Missouri Valley Conference player of the year after leading the league in scoring (19.1) and steals (2.2) He also has 5.7 assists per game and leads all Division I player in minutes per game (39.2).
Marquel Sutton, F, Omaha
First-round game: Thursday vs. St. John’s in Providence, Rhode Island.
Notes: Sutton heads into the NCAA Tournament having scored at least 18 points in 14 straight games for Omaha (22-12). The Summit League player of the year has 19.1 points and 8 rebounds per game. Sutton was named the Summit League Tournament’s most valuable player after collecting 22 points and 18 rebounds in an 85-75 championship game victory over St. Thomas.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, G/F, UC San Diego
First-round game: Thursday vs. Michigan in Denver.
Notes: Tait-Jones has a knack for drawing fouls, as his 293 free-throw attempts lead all Division I players. The 6-6 swingman from New Zealand earned Big West player of the year honors while helping Division I newcomer UC San Diego (30-4) win 15 straight games and earn an NCAA Tournament berth in its first season of eligibility. Tait-Jones averages 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer
