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Cougars Edged By No. 3 Panthers At Elite Eight

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Johnson
Ty Johnson



 March 22, 2006


         Springfield, Mass. - Buster Perkins' eight-foot jumper with 7.6 seconds remaining lifted No. 3 Virginia Union past Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 60-58 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament Wednesday afternoon.
         Mike Hardiek's two free throws tied the game at 58-58 with :42 left in the game. After Perkins' basket, Ty Johnson's 14-foot jump shot fell short in the final seconds that gave the Panthers their 12th consecutive win.
         Johnson finished with a team-high 16 points, going 7-for-16 from the field. Hardiek netted all 12 of his points in the second half after picking up two early fouls in the first half. Hardiek added a team-high seven boards.
         "There's a reason why Virginia Union is the defending national champion and why Dave Robbins is a hall of fame coach," said SIUE Coach Marty Simmons."They're so active defensively and they're always getting their hands on loose balls. I'm proud of the effort we got from our group of guys. They battled, battled and battled. They deserved to win, but Virginia Union just made one more play than us."
         SIUE finishes the season with a 25-8 mark. The Panthers, the defending national champions, improve to 29-3 overall and will play Seattle Pacific in the national semifinals tomorrow at 5 p.m. CST.
         The Cougars jumped out to a 6-0 lead with 18:47 left in the first half on three-pointers by Ryan Belcher and Johnson. Virginia Union answered with an 11-2 run to lead 11-8 with 14:14 left.
         The Panthers held a 21-20 advantage with 7:44 to go in the first half. Justin Ward's three-pointer capped an 11-1 run over the next 3:11 to give SIUE a 30-21 lead. Virginia Union came storming back with a 11-0 spurt to lead 32-30 with :14 left in the half. Nick Arth knocked down a three-pointer with :02 remaining to send SIUE into the locker room with a 33-32 lead.
         SIUE had entered the game with a 22-1 mark when leading at halftime.
         The two teams traded baskets to start the second half as the game was tied 37-37 with 17:36 left in a game that had 15 lead changes. Johnson's three-point jumper finished off a 15-6 run over the next 6:36 as SIUE led 52-43 with 8:25 remaining. Duan Crockett's two free throws ended a 10-0 run giving Virginia Union a 53-52 lead with 4:09 left. Brad Byerson's jumper with 1:03 left put the Panthers up 58-56.
         The Cougars displayed their trademark defense in the contest that held the Panthers to 35.2 percent (19-54) from the field, but Virginia Union netted 19 of 26 free throws. SIUE was 8 of 8 from the charity stripe.
         Nick Arth netted 11 of his 13 points in the first half as he went 5-for7 from the field, adding six rebounds. Ryan Belcher notched two steals in the contest as that gives him 102, adding to his SIUE record for steals in a season. Belcher had seven points and five rebounds.
         Byerson notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds as Virginia Union outrebouned the Cougars 39-32 in the game. Crockett was just 2-for-13 from the field, but went 9-10 from the free throw line for 14 points.
         "I don't think we didn't play well enough to advance. People say that sometimes you have to have luck, and today I thought we got very, very lucky. Regardless, we're proud to be in the position that we're in," said Robbins.
         The Cougars end a remarkable season winning the Great Lakes Regional Championship and the Co-Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division Championship. SIUE set new school-records for wins in a season with 25 and a 16-game winning steak.
                  -siue cougars-
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Players Mentioned

Nick Arth

#33 Nick Arth

F
6' 6"
Freshman
Ryan Belcher

#10 Ryan Belcher

G
6' 3"
Senior
Mike Hardiek

#34 Mike Hardiek

F
6' 7"
Junior
Ty Johnson

#3 Ty Johnson

G
5' 11"
Junior
Justin Ward

#50 Justin Ward

F
6' 6"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Nick Arth

#33 Nick Arth

6' 6"
Freshman
F
Ryan Belcher

#10 Ryan Belcher

6' 3"
Senior
G
Mike Hardiek

#34 Mike Hardiek

6' 7"
Junior
F
Ty Johnson

#3 Ty Johnson

5' 11"
Junior
G
Justin Ward

#50 Justin Ward

6' 6"
Senior
F