Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) men’s basketball NAIA National Championship Tournament. Carroll College
This was the fifth season in a row that SAGU’s season has ended at the national tournament. And although it’s not a bad place to end your season, the loss is still hard for SAGU Head Coach Donnie Bostwick , “It’s tough not living to coach this group another game. They’re a special group who really sold out to shining for Christ. We had our chances and I am so proud of my guys for all they did today and this season. They represented Christ and SAGU well.”
With 1:54 left in the first half, the Saints held a six point lead. In the final 60 seconds on the half, SAGU’s Josh Swearingin came off the bench to score the final four points for SAGU, giving SAGU the 36-34 lead at halftime.
The entire contest was close and often times was a one possession game. In the first half, CC was able to shut down stand-out senior Keyunta Watkins and hold him to only five points. Although Watkins only scored five in the first half, he came through in a major way in the second half for SAGU.
The second half started out strongly in SAGU’s favor. Josh Williams stole the ball, drove into the lane, made the basket and was fouled in the process. He also sunk the free throw to extend the Lions lead to five.
By 14:36, the game was tied up at 44 and the momentum was turning in CC’s favor. In the next six minutes, the Saints went on an 18-10 run and took the biggest lead of the night when Dane Warp nailed a well-timed three pointer, giving the CC the 62-54 edge.
At that point, something must have flipped the switch inside Keyunta Watkins . On SAGU’s next two possessions, Watkins scored five points. Two from the free throw line and one three pointer from beyond NBA line. That shot right there was the spark SAGU needed.
Watkins went onto score eight of SAGU’s final 10 points of regulation, hitting impressive three pointers in dramatic fashion.
“Key is a warrior,” says Bostwick, “He has that special ability to rise to the occasion and make big plays. He gave us a seven point lead with 2:15 left. One stop and we move on. There were about 10 plays that could have changed the outcome.”
The game was tied at 68-all with 1:44 left when CC’s Ife Kalejaiye made two free throws. That was enough to send the game into overtime.
Heading into overtime, Carroll’s leading scorer Match Burnham had fouled out. That was a positive for the Lions. But, like all good teams, and they’re all good teams in the national tournament, somebody else was able to step up.
“For the most part we made the guys we wanted take the shots, and to their credit they hit them. We still fought hard and had that one in our hands,” explains Bostwick.
SAGU started overtime with Isaak Rowe stealing the ball, driving the length of the court and finishing with a slam dunk of epic proportions, which also drew a foul and turned into a three point play.
In the final 1:30 of the game, CC was able to go a perfect six-for-six at the free throw line, giving them the edge they needed to end SAGU’s season. Overall Carroll shot 96% from the free throw line, going 22-of-23.
SAGU was led in scoring by senior Keyunta Watkins . Watkins scored 24 points, 19 of those coming in the second half. Watkins also ends his collegiate career with three steals. Josh Williams scored 18 points, Isaak Rowe added 15 points and Kentton Williams had 11 points.
Kalejaiye led Carroll with a career-high 19 points, followed by Match Burnham with 18 points off the bench and Zach Taylor added 14 points. Kalejaiye averages 5.5 points per game.
Carroll will go onto play Life (Georgia) on Saturday, March 18, 2017 at noon.
SAGU’s season ended with a 24-10 record. They were second in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
