NAIA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola's Men's Basketball team learned its road to the championship Wednesday and will open the 2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship with a first-round game against Belhaven College (Miss.) at 10:30 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
The Eagles, who finished the regular season with a 27-5 overall mark, are the sixth overall seed in the tournament's 32-team field.
Biola's opening-round game will be against the Blazers of Belhaven College. The Blazers are making their first NAIA Tournament appearance since 1972 and just their second overall. Belhaven comes into the tournament with an overall record of 24-9 which set a new school record for most wins in a season.
The Blazers finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and made it to the GCAC Tournament Championship before losing to LSU-Shreveport 101-94 Tuesday night.
Nathaniel Roche' leads the Blazers this season averaging 13.4 points and eight rebounds per game. Larell Bailey averages 11 points per game followed closely by Rob Wallace at 10.8 points per contest. Bailey and Roche' were also All-GCAC selections for their efforts this season.
The Eagles earned an at-large berth into the tournament after falling in the GSAC semifinals and finishing with a 27-5 overall mark--their best record in a decade. Biola was second in the conference during the regular season with a record of 16-4.
Biola is making its 17th trip to the NAIA tournament--the sixth most appearances by active NAIA members--and is 19-16 in tournament games. Last season, the Eagles made their first trip in four years, but lost 68-63 in overtime to No. 6-seeded Westminster College (Utah) in the first round.
Biola's successful 2009-10 team is led by three seniors, senior post Rocky Hampton and guards Marlon King and Danny Campbell.
Hampton was one of the dominant centers in the conference this season, leading the GSAC in rebounding (8.7 rpg) and blocks (2.5 bpg), ranking third in field goal percentage (58.7%) and eighth in scoring (14.2 ppg). He was also ranked among the best in the NAIA, finishing the regular season fourth in blocked shots, 12th in total rebounds and 13th in field goal percentage.
King was one of the top defensive players in the conference and ranked among the best in the NAIA this season. King was one of the main reasons Biola led the nation in scoring defense, leading the conference and ranking second in the country in steals (2.8/game). He also had the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the GSAC (2.1) and ranked second in assists (4.8/game).
Campbell, who ranked among the best three-point shooters in the conference this season, recorded 63 treys and hit just under 40 percent from beyond the arc. The senior's 63 three-pointers were the fifth-most in the conference and his 39.6% shooting from long range was the 10th best mark. He also finished 12th in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game.
