Judson puts slow start behind, looks ahead to national tourney
The Judson University men's basketball team will open the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo. against No. 2 seed Oregon Tech on Wednesday at 5:45 p.m., an achieved goal that seemed like a pipe dream in early December.
Qualifying for one of the 32 spots in the national tournament for the second time in three seasons was the furthest thing from the Eagles' minds on Dec. 4, when they lost their 10th straight game, an 87-81 decision against College of the Ozarks. That defeat dropped the Eagles to a head-scratching 1-10.
"I'm sure at that point all of us had doubts in our minds about the season," sophomore guard Josh Edwards said. "When things start to get really bad, you start to question yourself and your teammates."
Though the Eagles were losing regularly, they never gave up on the season.
"The kids still had a pretty optimistic attitude even when we were losing," Judson coach Tony Tompkins said. "We were just finding different ways to lose. No matter who we played we would lose by 6 points. We'd lose to a ranked team by 6 points or we'd lose by 6 points to a team we should have beaten by 20. They just knew they weren't being consistent."
An epic turnaround began in earnest the next night in Joliet against the University of St. Francis. Trailing by 20 points at halftime, the Eagles played with a sense of purpose in the final 20 minutes. They tied the game with 3 seconds left in regulation on a 3-pointer by Edwards and eventually won in overtime, 102-92. The victory renewed their confidence.
"It got in our heads that we can actually do this," Edwards said. "After that, conference started and we put it in gear and really saw our full potential."
Playing a better brand of team defense with a stronger emphasis on rebounding, Judson (17-12) pulled off 16 wins in its next 18 outings. Their only two losses in that span came against nationally ranked Cardinal Stritch of Milwaukee. But the Eagles would have the last laugh against the Wolves.
The rivals squared off for a third time in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship game on Feb. 27. This time, backed by 27 points from 6-foot-6 senior forward Ben Rayhorn - who scored 8 points in the final four minutes of the game - the Eagles rallied from a late, 4-point deficit to win 70-65. The victory snapped No. 9 Cardinal Stritch's 19-game winning streak and automatically qualified the Eagles for the national tournament.
Rayhorn's teammates believed in him despite his early season slump.
"He went though a span last year when he was killing, and with this being his senior year he started to take over," Judson sophomore guard Landon Skinner said. "I've been playing with him for two years now and he has the talent to take over any game he wants to, and now he's decided to do it."
Rayhorn, who enters the national tournament averaging 12.6 points, said he had to adjust his game in order to help the team win.
"I think in the beginning of the season I was really one-dimensional," Rayhorn said. "I was staying on the 3-point line all the time and I wasn't very aggressive. Lately, I've been getting into the post and scoring down there, which has really opened up a lot of things for me."
The Eagles possess a balanced attack with four starters averaging double-digit points. Rayhorn is on a roll, but remains third on the team in scoring average behind Skinner (15.3) and Edwards (14.6). Junior guard Jim Kuban averages 11.1 points.
Though the Eagles are ranked 31st of the 32 teams that qualified for the NAIA Division II National Tournament, they feel they have a shot against Oregon Tech (29-4).
"We broke down their schedule and 14 of their wins are against teams we would have beaten by 42," Tompkins said of Oregon Tech, which was ranked No. 2 in the final NAIA Division II poll released on Feb. 22. "They really didn't play as tough a schedule as we did. Once we got the tape, we saw that they are very perimeter-oriented and we match up with them very well. As long as we defend and rebound, I think we'll do really well."
The players approach Wednesday's game cautiously optimistic. After all, they believe anything is possible after rallying from a 1-10 start to reach the national tournament.
"They're a really good team and they're ranked No. 2 in the nation for a reason," Rayhorn said. "But after watching them on tape and scouting them a little bit, I think we have a really good chance."
An upset of Oregon Tech on Wednesday would advance Judson (17-12) to the Sweet Sixteen on Friday at 4 p.m. against the winner of No. 15. St. Francis, Ind. (23-9) vs. Black Hills State, S.D. (21-7).