2015 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
College basketball tournament
The 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri . The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game was won by Cornerstone University of Grand Rapids, Michigan over Dakota Wesleyan University of Mitchell, South Dakota by a score of 66 to 45.[ 1]
Tournament field
The 2015 tournament field was announced on March 14 in a live selection show. The field is made up of 23 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large bids and one automatic host bid presented to College of the Ozarks . This tournament field welcomed the return of four out of the last five champions, led by defending champion and top seed Indiana Wesleyan University along with Cardinal Stritch, Cornerstone, and Saint Francis.[ 2] There were four newcomers to the bracket, Brescia , Northwestern Ohio , Olivet Nazarene and St. Francis of Illinois .
The complete field consists of Ashford , Bellevue , Bethel, Brescia, Briar Cliff , Cal Maritime , Cardinal Stritch , Concordia, Cornerstone, Dakota State , Davenport , Embry-Riddle , Friends , Grace, College of Idaho , Indiana University East , Indiana Wesleyan , Midland, Milligan, Morningside , Mount Mercy , Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene, College of the Ozarks, Saint Francis, Saint Thomas , Southern Oregon , Tabor , Union, and Warner Pacific .[ 3]
Highlights
Fab Four
The fifth ranked Dakota Wesleyan Tigers came back from a twelve point deficit to defeat the College of Idaho Yotes 88-80 and advance to the NAIA championship game.[ 4] On the other side of the bracket, Davenport hit three free throws in the final six seconds to secure a 79-75 win over defending champion Indiana Wesleyan.[ 5]
Championship game
Cornerstone won their third national championship, defeating Dakota Wesleyan 66-45 behind a twenty-four point performance by Ben Lanning.[ 6]
Tourney awards and honors
Dr. James Naismith/Emil Liston Team Sportsmanship Award : Southern Oregon
Individual recognition
Most Outstanding Player : Dominez Burnett , Davenport[ 7]
Championship Hustle Award : Luke Bamberg, Dakota Wesleyan[ 8]
NABC/NAIA Division II Coach of the Year : Kim Elders, Cornerstone[ 9]
Rawlings-NAIA Division II National Coach of the Year : Matt Wilber, Dakota Wesleyan[ 10] [ 11]
2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-Championship Team [ 12]
Name
School
Dominez Burnett*
Davenport
Bishop Robinson
Davenport
Trae Bergh
Dakota Wesleyan
Jalen Voss
Dakota Wesleyan
Kris Menning
Dakota Wesleyan
Ben Lanning
Cornerstone
Travis Wells
Cornerstone
DeForest Carter
Embry-Riddle
Cesar Pastrana
Embry-Riddle
Dalton Barnes
Embry-Riddle
Statistical leaders
(minimum 4 games)[ 13]
Category
Player
School
Tally
Most points
Jalen Voss
Dakota Wesleyan
106
Most points per game
Dominez Burnett
Davenport
21.25
Leading rebounder
Ben Lanning
Cornerstone
59
Leading rebounder per game
Ben Lanning
Cornerstone
11.8
Most assists
DeForest Carter
Embry-Riddle
45
Assists per game
DeForest Carter
Embry-Riddle
11.25
Assist/Turnover ratio
Martin Tate
Dakota Wesleyan
5.33
Three-pointers made
Trae Bergh
Dakota Wesleyan
16
Best overall field goal percentage
Cesar Pastrana
Embry-Riddle
71.4% (25-35)
Best 3-point field goal percentage
Dominez Burnett
Davenport
77.8% (7-9)
Most free throws made
Cesar Pastrana (Tie)
Embry-Riddle
24
Most free throws made
Kyle Steigenga (Tie)
Cornerstone
24
Best free throw percentage
Ty Mason
Cornerstone
92.9% (13-14)
Most steals
DeForest Carter
Embry-Riddle
21
Most steals per game
DeForest Carter
Embry-Riddle
5.25
Most shots blocked
Ben Lanning
Cornerstone
7
Most shots blocked per game
Ben Lanning
Cornerstone
1.4
Bracket
First round March 11–12
Second round March 13
Quarterfinals March 14
Semifinals March 16
National championship March 17
1
Indiana Wesleyan
77
Brescia
56
1
Indiana Wesleyan
79
16
Warner Pacific
71
16
Warner Pacific
79
Olivet Nazarene
54
1
Indiana Wesleyan
75
8
Davenport[ 14]
79
9
Mount Mercy
64
Cal Maritime
61
9
Mount Mercy
67
8
Davenport
70
8
Davenport
68
Briar Cliff
66
8
Davenport
51
5
Dakota Wesleyan
80
5
Dakota Wesleyan
98
Milligan
55
5
Dakota Wesleyan
65
Ashford
49
12
Bethel
57
Ashford
83
5
Dakota Wesleyan
88
4
College of Idaho
80
13
College of the Ozarks
69
Cardinal Stritch
78
Cardinal Stritch
80
4
College of Idaho
99
4
College of Idaho
65
Dakota State
64
5
Dakota Wesleyan
45
3
Cornerstone
66
3
Cornerstone
74
St. Thomas
58
3
Cornerstone
97
14
Concordia
78
14
Concordia
116
Indiana University East
90
3
Cornerstone
75
11
Saint Francis (Ind.)
64
11
Saint Francis (Ind.)
70
Saint Francis (Ill.)
68
11
Saint Francis
72
6
Morningside
70
6
Morningside
86
Tabor
79
3
Cornerstone
91
2
Embry-Riddle[ 15]
81
7
Bellevue
50
Grace
54
Grace
62
Southern Oregon
68
10
Midland
71
Southern Oregon
73
Southern Oregon
71
2
Embry-Riddle
79
15
Union
64
Northwestern Ohio
58
15
Union
75
2
Embry-Riddle
89
2
Embry-Riddle
76
Friends
47
[ 16]
Epilogue
When the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams, almost all the players were represented at the national tournament, with a few notable exceptions including Lawrence Jackson of Northwestern Ohio, Jordan Nelson of Waldorf, Andre Winston of Southeastern.
NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams
1st Team
Name
School
Hometown
Dominez Burnett*
Davenport
Flint, Michigan
DeForest Carter
Embry-Riddle
Big Cypress, Florida
Grant Greenberg
Saint Mary
Leavenworth, Kansas
Johnny Marlin
Indiana Wesleyan
Greenwood, Indiana
Steve O’Neill
Morningside
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Matt Schauss
Bethel
Greens Fork, Indiana
Tony Smit
Cardinal Stritch
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Kyle Steigenga
Cornerstone
Holland, Michigan
Jalen Voss
Dakota Wesleyan
Worthington, Minnesota
Josh Wilson
College of Idaho
Los Angeles, California
- denotes NAIA/NABC Player of the Year
2nd Team
Name
School
Hometown
Lawrence Jackson
Northwestern, Ohio
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Jordan Nelson
Waldorf
Neenah, Wisconsin
Dondre Osborn
Mount Mercy
Zion, Illinois
Demetrius Perkins
College of Idaho
Compton, California
Tobin Reinwald
Hastings
Lincoln, Nebraska
Alex Starkel
Midland
Norfolk, Nebraska
Zach Steinmetz
Lourdes
Toledo, Ohio
Tim Weber
Southern Oregon
Roseburg, Oregon
Andre Winston
Southeastern
Tacoma, Washington
Clay Yeo
Bethel
Bourbon, Indiana
3rd Team
Name
School
Hometown
Brandon Cole
Bryan
Crossville, Tennessee
Brandon Eley
AIB
Zearing, Iowa
Austin Fox
Saint Francis (Ind)
Muncie, Indiana
Ilya Ilyayev
Saint Francis (Ill)
Los Angeles, California
Aaron Larson
Olivet Nazarene
Tolono, Illinois
Alex Starkel
Midland
Norfolk, Nebraska
Ben Lenning
Cornerstone
Grandville, Michigan
Kris Menning
Dakota Wesleyan
Corsica, South Dakota
Austin Morris
Brescia
Evansville, Indiana
Brequan Tucker
Jamestown
Joliet, Illinois
Honorable Mention
Name
School
Hometown
Bryant Allen
Dakota State
Maplewood, Missouri
Trey Bardsley
Nebraska Wesleyan
Beatrice, Nebraska
Cameron Clark
Southwestern
Lewisville, Texas
Derek Daniels
College of the Ozarks
Mountain View, Missouri
Jeremy Comer
Presentation
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nick Frazier
St. Ambrose
Bellwood, Illinois
Warren Hall
Warner (Fla.)
Tampa, Florida
Logan Irwin
Grace (Ind.)
South Whitley, Indiana
Deante Johnson
Union College (Kentucky)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Jack Krieger
Saint Xavier (Illinois)
Plainfield, Illinois
Percy Lemle
Bellevue (Nebraska)
Carson, California
Gabriel Martinez
Northern New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Alex Marzette
Robert Morris (Ill.)
Racine, Wisconsin
Fredricus Mattison
Northwood (Fla.)
Anderson, South Carolina
Diamontae McKinley
Ashford (Iowa)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Esvan Middleton
Concordia (Oregon)
Culver City, California
Cesar Pastrana
Embry-Riddle (Florida)
Cartagena, Colombia
Nathan Rindels
Dordt (Iowa)
Boulder, Colorado
Alec Schwab
William Penn (Iowa)
Peru, Illinois
Trey Scott
Waldorf (Iowa)
Fridley, Minnesota
Jake Simpson
Indiana University Southeast
Louisville, Kentucky
Dion Smith
Marian (Ind.)
Indianapolis, Ind.
Andrew Thomas
Tabor (Kansas)
Grenada
Eric Thompson
Southern Oregon
Roseburg, Oregon
Jerah’me Williams
Point Park (Pa.)
Youngstown, Ohio
[ 17]
See also
References
^ "Cornerstone wins NAIA DII national championship" . Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^ "2015 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Qualifiers Announced" . Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "College of the Ozarks Presents the NAIA Division II Men's National Basketball Championship" . Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "Dakota Wesleyan advances to NAIA semifinal" . March 15, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015 .
^ "Indiana Wesleyan falls to Davenport in quarterfinals" . March 17, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "Cornerstone Defeats Dakota Wesleyan In Championship Game" . March 17, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "Dominez Burnett named NABC 2015 NAIA DII Coaches' Player of the Year" . March 31, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ Fisher, Rod (March 18, 2015). "DWU Falls Short in NAIA Title Game" . Retrieved September 12, 2015 . [permanent dead link ]
^ "NABC UPS National Coaches of the Year announced" . March 31, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "Rawlings-NAIA National Basketball Coach of the Year" . Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ Hodge, Garrick (March 17, 2015). "Wilber honored, thanks seniors for memorable season" . Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "2015 All-Tournament Team" . Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "2014-15 NAIA Div II Men's National Championship Individual Stats" . dakstats . Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "Fab Four Bound! No. 8 Davenport men's basketball hangs on to upset No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan" . Michigan Live . March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2016 .
^ "ESPN3 Stream 2015 NAIA DII Men's Basketball Final" .
^ "Bracket" . Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ "Dominez Burnett Named NABC-NAIA Division II National Player of the Year" . March 19, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
Non-divisional (1937–1991, 2021–present) Divisional era (1992–2020)
The NAIA canceled the 2020 tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic and removed divisional classifications starting in 2020–21 .