TLU Falls to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in First Round of the NCAA Tournament

TLU Falls to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in First Round of the NCAA Tournament

(Story courtesy of Texas Lutheran University Sports Information)

MARSHALL, Texas -- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ended Texas Lutheran's magical 2014-15 season by defeating the Bulldogs 79-55 Friday in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship First Round.

In East Texas Baptist's Ornelas Gymnasium, the Bulldogs (18-10) trailed by six at the half, 30-24, but the Stags (22-6) stormed to 49 second-half points and out-scored TLU by 18 in the second half.

The champion of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps led by as many as 29 in the second half.

The champion of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, TLU played in its first-ever men's basketball national tournament.

CMS advances to play the winner of the East Texas Baptist - Hendrix (Ark.) match-up, which started at 7:30 p.m. in Ornelas Gymnasium. The Stags will play ETBU or Hendrix at 4 p.m. Saturday.

"Obviously it's disappointing the way the game turned out, like I was just telling the guys," said Jimmy Smith, TLU's first-year head coach. "We realize that except for one team in this tournament it is going to end this way at some point."

"Claremont is an excellent team. They have good size, and their motion offense is hard to guard. They do a great job of moving the ball, and they are very unselfish. If you make a mistake defensively, they are going to find the open guy. They did that tonight. They found the guys to hit the open shots."

TLU held the nation's ninth-leading scorer, Tyler Gaffaney, to 1-for-8 shooting and three points in the first half.

But Gaffney and the Stags found their stride in the second half. Gaffney scored 20 in the second half and added seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.

The Stags made 11 of their 22 shots in the second half and went to the foul line 29 times, making 23.

CMS forward Jason Harrington nailed three three-pointers early in the second half. Harrington was 3-for-5 from distance in the half and ended the night with 14 points.

"For us, I thought we attacked the basket, but weren't finishing," said Smith. "I thought the officials let us play a little bit, and we weren't getting to the free throw line like we were accustomed to doing. We struggled to make shots from the perimeter. Coming out after halftime, they made a run at us. We just couldn't recover in time to make it close at the end."

The size of CMS' front line bothered TLU all night and limited any second-chance opportunities for the Bulldogs. TLU finished the game with just two offensive rebounds. CMS out-rebounded TLU by 18, 44-26.

In addition to Gaffaney's seven rebounds, Jack Grodahl chipped in seven rebounds and eight points.

Zach Behr scored 15 points off the Bulldog bench. Behr made three three-pointers and five of his 10 shots. The sophomore from Temple (Temple/Schreiner) made all three of his three-pointers in the second half.

The only other Bulldog in double figures was sophomore point guard Sterling Holmes, who scored 10. He had seven in the first half.

TLU's leading scorer, Jordan Kouremetis, was held to four points, 10 below his season average. Kouremetis went 2-for-10 and 0-for-4 from the arc.

The Bulldogs were 5-of-19 from the three-point line and went to the foul line just 14 times. CMS took 17 more free throws.

CMS' victory put an end to a season of firsts for the Bulldogs. TLU won the SCAC regular-season co-championship, won the SCAC Championship Tournament to claim the conference title, and advanced to the NCAA Division III post-season for the first time in school history.

"We didn't want it to end this early, but at the end of the day what we have done up to this point has been phenomenal," said Garrett Wilkins, TLU's senior guard from Austin. "Just the way Coach Smith has carried us up to this point, it's just remarkable the job that he has done for us. The effort that he makes us give every night is just something that I will never forget as a senior."

Wilkins, Joseph Richardson, Donte McGee, Joshua Alderman and Thomas Verm played in their final game as Bulldogs.