Repeat Three-Peat
SKC Bison earn 7th national title in 8 years
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A season's worth of toil and practice paid off for the SKC Bison Sunday as the team earned its third straight AIHEC Nation Title, the team's seventh in the past eight years.
After defeating all of their previous opponents in the tournament by double digits, the Bison found themselves in a tough contest in the title game against Northwest Indian College Sunday. SKC jumped out to a quick lead in the contest but NWIC bounced back to take a 22-20 lead later in the opening half. Three consecutive threes by Dennis Sangrey sparked a 16-4 run which helped SKC grab a 47-36 lead but the Bison had to settle for a 53-48 halftime advantage.
Joe Chartraw got the SKC offense rolling in the second half, scoring the first seven points for the Bison to help put his team up 67-60 with 15 minutes to play. SKC led 80-75 with 10:30 to play when NWIC turned up the tempo and used a series of fast-break baskets to go on an 11-0 run.
Down 86-80 with eight minutes to play, the Bison used a 17-6 run to grab a 97-93 advantage late in the game but NWIC would come back to tie the score twice in the closing minutes. The Bison got a free-throw-line jumper and a pair of free throws from tournament MVP Marvin Lewis in the closing moments of the game to secure the win.
"It was all about our teamwork," Lewis said after the win. "We knew we were going to get the right shot when we needed it. It was all about what we had been practicing all season."
Lewis picked up tournament MVP honors after finishing the game with 22 points while teammates Sangrey, Chartraw, Jason Enright and Sonny Eppinette were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Sangrey and Chartraw led the Bison in scoring in the title game with 23 each, Lewis added 22, Emory LaMere had 11, Eppinette, Ralston Moore and Enright each added eight points.
The Bison opened the tournament with a lopsided 105-17 win over Navajo Tech Thursday morning.
It didn't take long for the Bison to put the game away as SKC opened the contest with a 27-0 run en route to a 56-8 halftime lead. The game was called with five minutes to play via the AIHEC tournament mercy rule.
LeMere led the Bison with 16 points in the win while Lewis and Enright each added 15.
The Bison picked up another win Thursday afternoon as they downed Fort Peck Community College, 92-61.
SKC led 53-32 at the half and ended the game via the mercy rule when Moore hit a three to put the Bison up 92-61 with 4:39 to play. The Bison connected on 10 threes in the contest.
Josh Finn led the Bison with 15 points in the win while Lewis added 13 and LaMere finished with 11.
The Bison got another blowout win Friday as they downed Turtle Mountain, 69-39. It was another mercy-rule win for SKC as the game ended after Lewis hit a three to put the Bison up by 40 with 2:27 to play.
SKC jumped out to a 19-2 lead early in the opening half and never relented as the Bison got the win.
LaMere led the way with 14 points while Lewis added 13 and Enright had 12 points.
The Bison got another big win in the tournament semi-final game as they downed Stone Child 132-89.
SKC led by 10 at the half before breaking the game open in the second frame.
Enright led the Bison with 28 points in the win while Chartraw added 19, Lewis had 16, LaMere scored 15, Isaac Bessette had 11, Sangrey and Eppinette each added 10 and James Bible scored seven points.
