Association of NCAA Division III Independents

Midwest Men ’s Basketball Championships

 

February 25, 2007

Raiders Hold On for Independent Tournament Title

Sophomore Andy Voigt (West Bend, Wis.) calmly sank a pair of foul shots with 7.1 seconds left to seal a 56-53 victory for the No. 1 seed MSOE men's basketball team (16-10) over third-seeded Clarke College (9-18) in the Independents Midwest Regional Tournament title game Sunday afternoon at the Kern Center.

The Raiders started strong as they forced seven turnovers and held Clarke to just one field goal in the first 9:23 while building an 14-2 lead. Five different players scored during the stretch for MSOE.

Clarke's cold spell continued as it missed 19 of its first 21 shots and MSOE took a 25-15 lead into the locker room at half.

The Crusaders opened the second half on a 27-14 run to grab a 42-39 lead. But Voigt's offensive put-back put the Raiders back up by one with just under six minutes to play. After a Neil Trainor (Frankfort, Ill.) steal, he found Robert Verdum (Pontiac, Ill.) open in the corner for a three-pointer and a 46-42 lead.

CC rattled off seven straight points until MSOE tied the game again on junior forward Scott Murphy's (Sheboygan, Wis.) three-pointer with 2:20 on the clock. Following a Clarke basket, Trainor made good on a three-point play with 1:18 to go that proved to be the game-winner.

Earlier in the day, fourth-seeded Finlandia (5-18) upset second-seeded University of Dallas (12-15), 86-76, in the consolation game.

All-Tournament Team:
Victor Harrington (Finlandia)
Joe Packard (Dallas)
DeMonte Bynum (Clarke)
Andy Voigt (MSOE)
Scott Murphy (MSOE)