2007 FIELD
By Jon Cooper
The second annual Old Spice Classic featured a powerful eight-team field that included representatives from Conference USA (Central Florida), the Colonial Athletic Association (George Mason, a 2006 Final Four participant), the Big 12 (Kansas State), the ACC (North Carolina State), the Big Ten (Penn State), the host Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Rider), the SEC (South Carolina) and the Big East (Villanova). Fitting of a tournament full of dramatic finishes, the championship game had two lead changes in the final 2.2 seconds and came down to the final 0.4 seconds, with North Carolina State finally outlasting 20th-ranked Villanova. Here is a team-by-team rundown of an intriguing Old Spice Classic.
CENTRAL FLORIDA (1-2)
Nickname: Knights
Conference: USA
Location: Orlando
The Patriots started 4-0 for the first time in school history after knocking off No. 18 Kansas State, 87-77, in its opener. John Vaughan led four double-digit scorers with 21 and started a 13-0 first-half run as GMU led by as much as 15. Vlad Moldoveanu’s three sparked a late 6-0 run after the Wildcats got within six. Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas each had 18, and Jordan Carter added 10 with nine rebounds and eight assists. The Patriots lost the next night, 84-76, to No. 20 Villanova. Campbell scored a career-high 25, going 11-for-11 from the line. Thomas and Dre Smith each added 15. George Mason trailed 38-34 at halftime and cut a 10-point deficit to five in the final minute, but got no closer. In the third-place game, GMU rallied from 12 down in the first half and edged South Carolina, 69-68. Thomas had a team-high 22, and Cam Long and Louis Birdsong each scored career-bests of 13. The game saw five ties and nine lead changes in the final 20 minutes, the last coming with 30 seconds left on Birdsong's putback of a missed Thomas three. Thomas averaged 18.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists to earn a berth on the All-Tournament team.
GEORGE MASON (2-1)
Nickname: Patriots
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association
Location: Fairfax, Va.
The Patriots started 4-0 for the first time in school history after knocking off No. 18 Kansas State, 87-77, in its opener. John Vaughan led four double-digit scorers with 21 and started a 13-0 first-half run as GMU led by as much as 15. Vlad Moldoveanu’s three sparked a late 6-0 run after the Wildcats got within six. Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas each had 18, and Jordan Carter added 10 with nine rebounds and eight assists. The Patriots lost the next night, 84-76, to No. 20 Villanova. Campbell scored a career-high 25, going 11-for-11 from the line. Thomas and Dre Smith each added 15. George Mason trailed 38-34 at halftime and cut a 10-point deficit to five in the final minute, but got no closer. In the third-place game, GMU rallied from 12 down in the first half and edged South Carolina, 69-68. Thomas had a team-high 22, and Cam Long and Louis Birdsong each scored career-bests of 13. The game saw five ties and nine lead changes in the final 20 minutes, the last coming with 30 seconds left on Birdsong's putback of a missed Thomas three. Thomas averaged 18.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists to earn a berth on the All-Tournament team.
KANSAS STATE (2-1)
Nickname: Wildcats
Conference: Big 12
Location: Manhattan, Kan.
The 18th-ranked Wildcats, which started four freshmen, showed its inexperience in a stunning 87-77 upset loss in its opener against George Mason. Michael Beasley scored 30 and added 10 rebounds, but 22 of his points came in the second half, as he sat out the final 7:52 of the first half with two fouls. State trailed 39-30 at intermission and never got closer than six. Jacob Pullen had 14 for K-State, which made only 2-of-16 from three. Beasley went for 30 again and Pullen added 19 as the Wildcats survived Central Florida’s upset bid, winning 73-71 in overtime. The ’Cats squandered a 13-point second-half lead then nearly blew a five-point overtime advantage, but Pullen's two free throws with 18 seconds left sealed the game. In its final game, Kansas State got 22 from Andre Gilbert, including 4-for-6 from three, and pounded Rider, 82-69. Beasley had 13 points with 10 rebounds. The Wildcats saw a 17-point second-half lead cut to four, but held on, holding Rider without a field goal the final 3:31. Pullen scored 19 with five assists. Beasley was named to the All-Tournament team, averaging 24.3 points on 60.4 percent shooting, with 11 boards.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE (3-0 | Champions)
Nickname: Wolfpack
Conference: Atlantic Coast
Location: Raleigh, N.C.
N.C. State started slowly but downed Rider, 72-63, in its opener. Courtney Fells scored 18 and shot 6-for-10 in the second half, including a three-pointer that sparked an 11-1 run. The Wolfpack shot 57.9 percent in the second half, and 83.3 from three, after going 0-for-7 from there in the first half. In its next game, the Wolfpack rallied from nine down with 10:54 to play, edging South Carolina, 63-61. Brandon Costner had a game-high 21, including a three-pointer with 2:25 left that gave State the lead for good. Fells managed only two points on 1-for-7 shooting (0-for-4 from three). State limited SC to 32.9 percent shooting. In the championship game, Gavin Grant made two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining, as State nipped 20th-ranked Villanova, 69-68. Grant's free throws gave him 15 and marked the game’s 18th lead change (there also were six ties). His shots came only 1.8 seconds after the Wildcats took the lead. Fells had 21 and J.J. Hickson added 15 for the Wolfpack, which committed 15 turnovers in a sloppy first half. Fells was named Tournament MVP, averaging 13.7 ppg, on 50 percent shooting (9-for-18), 40 percent from three (6-for-15), and 90 percent from the line (9-for-10), with 6.0 rebounds.
PENN STATE (0-3)
Nickname: Nittany Lions
Conference: Big Ten
Location: University Park, Pa.
Cold shooting doomed Penn State in its tournament-opening 74-67 loss to South Carolina. Geary Claxton had 18 for the Nittany Lions, who shot 35.6 percent and only 16 percent from three. PSU had a 40-28 advantage in points in the paint and a 54-33 edge on the boards, but managed only 12 second-chance points despite grabbing 26 offensive rebounds. State trailed the entire game. Against Rider, Penn State squandered a 13-point first-half lead and lost, 82-73. Claxton had 23, with 12 rebounds and a team-high four assists. Jamelle Cornley added 17, as Penn State had a 41-18 advantage in bench points, but made only 4-of-13 from three in the second half, allowing Rider to pull away. In their finale, Claxton led the Nittany Lions for the third straight game, with 22 points and eight rebounds, but State shot a frosty 36 percent in falling, 70-59, to Central Florida. PSU led by eight in the first half but trailed 23-22 at intermission and by as much as 11 in the second half. They'd get within two but never equalize.
RIDER (1-2)
Nickname: Broncs
Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic
Location: Lawrenceville, N.J.
Rider led by nine in the first half but ran out of gas against North Carolina State, dropping its tournament opener, 72-63. Jason Thompson had 24 points and 15 rebounds, both game-highs, but the Broncs made only two of nine second-half three-point attempts, and were outscored 44-32, 23-5 from the foul line. Against Penn State, brothers Jason and Ryan Thompson and Harris and Patrick Mansell combined for 70 points in an 82-73 win. The Broncs used a 16-2 run to overcome a 13-point first-half deficit and take a 37-36 halftime lead. They would never be headed, using a 14-5 run to put the game away. Jason had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Rider, which made seven second-half threes. In the fourth-place game, Rider lost to No. 18 Kansas State, 82-69, despite a heroic performance by the Thompson brothers, who combined for 45 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and four steals. Rider closed the gap to four late in the second half. Jason, who had a game-high 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 23.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks.
SOUTH CAROLINA (1-2)
Nickname: Gamecocks
Conference: Southeastern
Location: Columbia, S.C.
The Gamecocks got a career-high 30 from Devan Downey in handling Penn State, 74-67, in their opener. Downey made 8 of 17 shots, 10 of 11 from the foul line, as USC led virtually wire-to-wire. Zam Fredrick added 14 second-half points. Carolina turned 20 Penn State turnovers into 27 points. Against N.C. State, Fredrick and Downey each had 12, but the Gamecocks couldn't hold a nine-point second-half lead, losing a heartbreaker, 63-61. The 'cocks, led 29-25 at the break and had a 24-6 edge on the offensive glass (Mike Holmes grabbed 16 rebounds, 8 offensive rebounds), and a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points, but shot 32.9 percent, and converted only 1 of 6 second-half free throw attempts. South Carolina dropped another heartbreaker in the third-place game, falling 69-68 to George Mason on a basket with 30 seconds left. Fredrick scored a game-high 24 and gave Carolina its last lead with 1:57 left. Downey added 14, as the Gamecocks held a five-point halftime lead. But USC shot 37.1 percent in the second half and only got to the foul line once. Neither team led by more than four in the final 20 minutes, which saw nine lead changes and five ties.
VILLANOVA (2-1)
Nickname: Wildcats
Conference: Big East
Location: Villanova, Pa.
The 20th-ranked Wildcats got 19 from Scottie Reynolds and 18 from Corey Fisher in topping pesky Central Florida, 76-68, in their opener. Fisher scored all eight points in a second-half 8-2 run, and Reynolds hit five straight free throws to close the game out. In their next game, Reynolds scored 21 points, 17 in the second half, as the ’Cats overcame an eight-point first-half deficit and pulled away in the second half, beating George Mason, 84-76. Malcolm Grant's three 3-pointers fueled a late first-half 21-9 run, and the ’Cats led by as much as 14 in the second half. In a classic final that saw six ties and 18 lead changes, the Wildcats lost to North Carolina State, 69-68. Dante Cunningham gave the ’Cats the lead with 2.2 seconds left, but then committed a foul 1.8 seconds later, resulting in the winning points. Fisher scored 21, Reynolds added 15, and Casiem Drummond pulled down 17 rebounds for ’Nova, which played the second half without second-leading scorer Shane Clark, who left with an injury. The ’Cats outscored State 48-28 in the paint, 19-10 in second-chance points, and held a 21-8 edge off the offensive glass. Reynolds averaged 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.
University of Maryland alum Jon Cooper is an Atlanta-based freelance writer.
