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Elite 8 clash
Posted: Mar 21, 2018

Elite 8 clash

By SETH STRINGER

 

HUTCHINSON — The résumé for the NWF State men's basketball team speaks for itself.

The Raiders are 31-2, seeded second in the NJCAA national tournament and have already cut down the nets twice following Panhandle Conference and Region 8 crowns.

They opened the national tournament Tuesday with a 109-91 win over 15th-seeded Western Nebraska, affirming a prolific offense that's averaging 91 points on the season and shooting 54 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc.

Andres Feliz could be the National Player of the Year, the sophomore point guard padding his season stats of 20 points, six rebounds and six assists with 24 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the Sweet 16 win.

There's also no shortage of size for NWF State, starters DJ Funderburk (11.5 points, five rebounds per game) and Karim Ezzeddine (7.7 points) listed at 6-foot-9 each. And the backcourt depth overfloweth, Tray Boyd III (14.8 points), Chris Duarte (12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) and Kelvin Robinson (10.3 points, 4.5 rebounds) combining for 55 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in the win over Western Nebraska.

That's the skinny on NWF State.

Here's the skinny on 10th-seeded Southern Idaho, the next obstacle in NWF State's bid to replicate its national title run from 2015.

Entering today's 2 p.m. tipoff in Hutchinson, Kansas, the Golden Eagles are 29-5 and finished second in the Scenic West Athletic Conference with a 9-2 record. The Region 18 runners-up earned an at-large bid after finishing the season ranked ninth in the country.

The Golden Eagles opened the tournament with a 119-82 win over 23rd-seeded Snead State and then defeated No. 7 Odessa 103-95 to advance to the Elite Eight.

 

The scoring barrage is par for the course for the Golden Eagles, who have six players averaging double-digit points en route to 101.4 points per game. That comes on the shoulders of shooting a collective 48 percent from the floor and 39 percent from beyond the arc for 12 3s a night.

NWF State head coach Steve DeMeo said the Golden Eagles can run with anyone in the country.

"Jared Phay, the head coach, that's his style," Steve DeMeo said. "He's an up-tempo style guy. They play fast, they share the ball well and they have three or four dynamic guys that can score."

Two games into the tournament the Golden Eagles are making 14 3s a night, shooting 48 percent from the floor and averaging 111 points. Charles Jones, a 6-foot-2 guard headed to Utah next year, leads the Golden Eagles with 19.1 points per game and is averaging 21 points in the tournament. Tommy Burton, a 6-foot-8 forward, is averaging 20.5 points in Hutchinson and Pitt signee Danye Kingsby, a 6-1 guard, is averaging 14.5 points.

So how do the Raiders slow the Golden Eagles down? Or at least hold them to under 100 points?

"It's going to be about transition D and us taking quality shots as well," DeMeo said. "We have to play NWF State basketball.

"When you get to this point of the year, every team is well-coached and really talented. If we take care of what we need to take care of, we're going to have a good shot."