2003 Division II Men's Basketball Semifinals:
Kentucky Wesleyan 84, Bowie State 64
March 27, 2003
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Eugene Dabney and Marlon Parmer combined for 52 points and 17 rebounds to power Kentucky Wesleyan to a 84-64 win over Bowie State and into Saturday's title game of the NCAA Division II National Championship. The Panthers will face the winner of the Northeastern State/Queens game at 1 p.m. ET.
Kentucky Wesleyan (31-3) will be making its record sixth straight and 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship Game. The Panthers have won eight NCAA titles, the last coming in 2001. Bowie State, making its first ever appearance in NCAA post-season play, ends its season at 30-5.
"It's a family," Kentucky Wesleyan head coach Ray Harper said of his team. "We're really close to accomplishing our goal. We left Owensboro on a business trip and we still have a job to finish."
"We did the best we could," commented Bowie State head coach Luke D'Alessio. "We worked hard and never gave up. If you want to beat Kentucky Wesleyan, you have to score points. We missed some shots that we usually make. They've been here six times and have their program in place. Our's is growing. We're taking it one step at a time and we want to be a top-10 team from now on. This was a big step for us."
The first half featured six lead changes and the score was tied nine times. The Panthers took the final lead with 2:44 left in the first period on a Parmer jumper. A pair of free throws by Dabney pushed the Kentucky Wesleyan lead to 37-34 while Stephen Moss-Kelley cut the lead to one, 37-36, on a basket with 50 seconds left. Dabney then followed with a layup to give the Panthers a 39-36 lead at intermisson.
The two teams were an identical 14-of-33 from the floor in the first period.
Kentucky Wesleyan opened the second half with a 14-7 run behind five points from Parmer including a 3-pointer which put the Panthers ahead, 53-43, at the 16:57 mark. Bowie State never recovered and trailed by 20 five times in the final period.
"At the half, I told them we were down six," said Harper. "We were playing well, but we need to defend, swing the ball, get it to the guy who is a warrior (Parmer). If there is a better player in Division II that Marlon Parmer, or a better Player of the Year candidate, I'd like to see him. I have never coached a player as good as Marlon Parmer."
Dabney was 11-of-17 from the field for a career-high 28 points for Kentucky Wesleyan and pulled down eight rebounds and blocked four shots. Parmer connected on 10-of-13 free throws for 24 points, and just missed a triple double with nine rebounds and eight assists.
"I tried to get everyone involved, especially Eugene," said Parmer. "Once they started focusing on him, it allowed me to get open."
"We had a lot of guys step up," added Harper. "When your point guard (Parmer) is your leading rebounder, you are doing something right. I'm really proud of this team and the way they have come together."
Bowie State placed four players in double figures, including Moss-Kelley, who led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Jon Smith and Cornelius McMurray each had 12 points for Bowie State while Omarr Smith added 10.
"My dream has always been to play in a final four," commented Bowie State forward Tim Washington. "I didn't play a great game, but I played as hard as I could. This means a lot to our program."
Both teams finished the game with 66 field goal attempts, Kentucky Wesleyan connected on 29 while Bowie State made 24 shots, but was just 10-of-33 in the second half. Rebounding was as balanced as the Panthers held a slight 43-40 advantage. The big difference, stats-wise, was that the Panthers were 21-of-25 from the free throw line while the Bulldogs were just 10-of-16.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Bowie State Bulldogs vs Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers
3/27/03 6:00 p.m. at Lakeland Center, Lakeland, Florida
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Bowie State Bulldogs 30-5
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
30 Tim Washington...... f 4-14 0-0 1-2 1 4 5 5 9 1 2 0 0 23
33 Stephen Moss-Kelley. f 5-12 2-6 3-4 1 2 3 4 15 4 1 1 0 36
21 Jon Smith........... c 6-8 0-1 0-0 3 5 8 2 12 0 3 3 0 36
10 Cornelius McMurray.. g 3-12 2-7 4-5 1 7 8 1 12 4 4 1 0 35
22 Omarr Smith......... g 4-9 2-4 0-0 1 0 1 2 10 0 0 0 0 22
00 Jamar Wood.......... 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
03 Allen Van Norden.... 1-2 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 8
04 Shawn Hampton....... 0-1 0-0 0-1 3 3 6 2 0 1 2 1 0 10
05 Shaun Ross.......... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
12 Gabe Como........... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
14 Donte Wright-Nelson. 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
20 Arthur Lewis, Jr.... 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 20
42 Nathaniel Fields.... 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3
TEAM................ 3 1 4
Totals.............. 24-66 6-21 10-16 15 25 40 22 64 11 12 6 1 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-33 42.4% 2nd Half: 10-33 30.3% Game: 36.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 1-10 10.0% Game: 28.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 62.5% 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers 31-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Dewayne Rogers...... f 2-2 2-2 2-2 2 3 5 1 8 0 0 0 0 32
13 Thad Key............ f 3-5 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 2 6 2 2 0 0 21
55 Eugene Dabney....... c 11-17 0-0 6-7 2 6 8 0 28 0 1 4 0 35
01 Marlon Parmer....... g 6-17 2-7 10-13 0 9 9 2 24 8 2 0 1 36
02 Huggy Dye........... g 1-6 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 4 2 3 1 0 0 14
03 Damon Garris........ 4-7 0-0 1-1 3 3 6 4 9 0 2 0 0 18
11 Ryan West........... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
12 Bobby Zuerner....... 2-8 1-5 0-0 1 1 2 3 5 1 0 0 2 25
20 Matt Enos........... 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1
21 John Foster......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
30 Haven Mosley........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
33 Trey Ferguson....... 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 7
34 Eric Freeman........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 5
54 Dean Smith.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 29-66 5-19 21-25 12 31 43 20 84 14 11 5 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-33 42.4% 2nd Half: 15-33 45.5% Game: 43.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-11 18.2% 2nd Half: 3-8 37.5% Game: 26.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-10 90.0% 2nd Half: 12-15 80.0% Game: 84.0% 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Mike Stephens, Bobby Pultz, Chris Rastatter
Technical fouls: Bowie State Bulldogs-None. Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Bowie State Bulldogs.......... 36 28 - 64
Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers.... 39 45 - 84
NCAA Men's Division II Semifinals- Game Five
Kentucky Wesleyan(31-3) advances to Championship Game Saturday at 1:00pm (EST)
vs. Queens/Northeastern State winner. Bowie State finishes 30-5.
| 
