West Virginia State coach Bryan Poore's choice of gameday attire isn't likely to include a mix of plaids and pastels, but his Yellow Jackets will still experience a clash of styles today in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region tournament.
West Virginia State coach Bryan Poore's choice of gameday attire isn't likely to include a mix of plaids and pastels, but his Yellow Jackets will still experience a clash of styles today in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region tournament.
The fourth-seeded Jackets and their wide-open offensive attack begin regional play today against No. 5 East Stroudsburg (Pa.), a tough, defensive-minded squad from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on the campus of No. 1 seed Indiana (Pa.), which will play host to No. 8 Fairmont State at 7:30 p.m.
"We'll definitely want to get it going up and down," said Poore. "We want to get them to play our pace. If the score is in the 60s or 70s, that's in their favor."
State (24-5) has had little trouble imposing its will on opponents this season, ranking third nationally in scoring at 95.3 points per game. During their current 13-game winning streak, the Jackets have topped the century mark six times, including last Saturday's 108-107 victory over West Liberty in the West Virginia Conference tournament championship game at the Charleston Civic Center.
The Jackets' WVC tournament run not only included a victory over the Hilltoppers, who earned the No. 2 seed in the regional, but also wins in the semifinals over Alderson-Broaddus (the No. 7 seed in the region) and in the quarterfinals over defending league tournament champion Pitt Johnstown.
Poore said the grueling march through the WVC regular season and tournament has his team ready for the regional.
"No question," Poore said. "Pitt Johnstown was the defending tournament champion and they play a different style, a slower pace. Then you play A-B, who's always good in the Civic Center, and then of course West Liberty in finals. All three games were difficult matchups, but our guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now."
Five players average double-figures for State, led by former Capital High star Josh "Cookie" Miller (20.7) and Darren Jones (20.1). Former Charleston Catholic standout Bo King (12.8) is next, followed by Jason Emerson (10.6) and Will Collins (10.4).
The Jackets are seeking their first regional victory since 2007, when they defeated Alderson-Broaddus before falling to Barton (N.C.) in the semifinals. State was dumped in the quarterfinals last season by Kutztown (Pa.)
East Stroudsburg (24-5) is making its first postseason appearance since 1990 and only the second in school history. The Warriors have two players averaging double-figures - guard Andy Heimback (12.8) and forward Mike Tobin (10.3) - but feature a stifling defense that is surrendering just 65.0 points per game. Coach Jeff Wilson's squad has kept opponents under the 80-point plateau in 27 of 29 games and allowed more than 90 points just once, and Bloomsburg (Pa.) needed two overtimes to hit the mark in a 101-96 loss.
"They'll play fast, but not as fast as we do," said Poore. "There's not too many teams in the PSAC that play like us. But they're really, really balanced. They have two guys that average double digits, but they've got two more who are averaging over 8.
"There's only eight teams left playing, so anybody you're playing right now is going to be good. I just really think we've got some gamers on our team, that when the game's on the line, they've got that extra gear they can put it in."
Today's winners will meet in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Sunday. The highest remaining seed will play host to the regional championship game Tuesday.
West Virginia State coach Bryan Poore's choice of gameday attire isn't likely to include a mix of plaids and pastels, but his Yellow Jackets will still experience a clash of styles today in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region tournament.
The fourth-seeded Jackets and their wide-open offensive attack begin regional play today against No. 5 East Stroudsburg (Pa.), a tough, defensive-minded squad from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on the campus of No. 1 seed Indiana (Pa.), which will play host to No. 8 Fairmont State at 7:30 p.m.
"We'll definitely want to get it going up and down," said Poore. "We want to get them to play our pace. If the score is in the 60s or 70s, that's in their favor."
State (24-5) has had little trouble imposing its will on opponents this season, ranking third nationally in scoring at 95.3 points per game. During their current 13-game winning streak, the Jackets have topped the century mark six times, including last Saturday's 108-107 victory over West Liberty in the West Virginia Conference tournament championship game at the Charleston Civic Center.
The Jackets' WVC tournament run not only included a victory over the Hilltoppers, who earned the No. 2 seed in the regional, but also wins in the semifinals over Alderson-Broaddus (the No. 7 seed in the region) and in the quarterfinals over defending league tournament champion Pitt Johnstown.
Poore said the grueling march through the WVC regular season and tournament has his team ready for the regional.
"No question," Poore said. "Pitt Johnstown was the defending tournament champion and they play a different style, a slower pace. Then you play A-B, who's always good in the Civic Center, and then of course West Liberty in finals. All three games were difficult matchups, but our guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now."
Five players average double-figures for State, led by former Capital High star Josh "Cookie" Miller (20.7) and Darren Jones (20.1). Former Charleston Catholic standout Bo King (12.8) is next, followed by Jason Emerson (10.6) and Will Collins (10.4).
The Jackets are seeking their first regional victory since 2007, when they defeated Alderson-Broaddus before falling to Barton (N.C.) in the semifinals. State was dumped in the quarterfinals last season by Kutztown (Pa.)
East Stroudsburg (24-5) is making its first postseason appearance since 1990 and only the second in school history. The Warriors have two players averaging double-figures - guard Andy Heimback (12.8) and forward Mike Tobin (10.3) - but feature a stifling defense that is surrendering just 65.0 points per game. Coach Jeff Wilson's squad has kept opponents under the 80-point plateau in 27 of 29 games and allowed more than 90 points just once, and Bloomsburg (Pa.) needed two overtimes to hit the mark in a 101-96 loss.
"They'll play fast, but not as fast as we do," said Poore. "There's not too many teams in the PSAC that play like us. But they're really, really balanced. They have two guys that average double digits, but they've got two more who are averaging over 8.
"There's only eight teams left playing, so anybody you're playing right now is going to be good. I just really think we've got some gamers on our team, that when the game's on the line, they've got that extra gear they can put it in."
Today's winners will meet in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Sunday. The highest remaining seed will play host to the regional championship game Tuesday.
Post a comment