Morgan Swaim | Staff writer
With the West Regional being hosted in Monmouth, the Wolves earned the chance to play the first three tournament games at home on their attempt to capture a national championship.
In the opening round of the national tournament, the team played a familiar opponent. In November 2017 they were able to squeak out a 70-69 win against the Point Loma Sea Lions. Though the March 9 game does show a close score, it was completely different from the narrow win earlier in the season. The Wolves started the game not being able to miss, jumping out to an early 22-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. Senior forward Vince Boumann scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, as the Sea Lions gave very little resistance in the paint early on. The hot start settled down after Point Loma was able to regain their composure and stop forcing turnovers, as they cut the Wolves lead to 11 heading into the first half.
Point Loma was able to slowly chip away, but the Wolves’s lead that was established in the first half was too large of a deficit in the 73-66 victory.
On March 10, GNAC foe St. Martin’s earned the chance to play the Wolves for the fourth time this season.
At the start, this game was unlike most that either team had played this season. Both teams were unable to get easy opportunities on offense. The Wolves shot 1-15 from the three-point line in the first half, with the Saints just making one of their eight attempts. With the lead at just 21-19, both teams wanted to speed the pace up. The Wolves were able to shift the momentum in the second half, as they quickly set the tone extending a lead to as high as 23 as time was winding down. After struggling in the first half, everything came together in the final 20 minutes as they defeated St. Martin’s for the fourth time this season to advance.
The last game that would be hosted in Monmouth was played the night of March 12 against the Cal Baptist Lancers. This marked the final home game the senior classmen would play, and gave the Wolves a chance to move on to the Elite Eight in South Dakota.
The Wolves found themselves facing a 10-point difference with just 3:36 remaining in the second half. With their season on the line, the team made an inspiring run to cut the Lancer lead to just two with 22 seconds remaining.
Senior guard Demetrius Trammell was able to provide a much needed spark in the final minutes. With three shots from behind the arc in the final two minutes, Trammell was able to shift the tide of the game completely.
The scoreboard read 78-76, with just 22 seconds left as the Wolves crawled their way back with a chance to win the game. After catching his man off guard with a spin move towards the basket, Senior Tanner Omlid’s shot in traffic was just a little bit too strong, bouncing off the back rim.
Time ran out on the Wolves’s effort and the Lancers were able to secure a 80-76 win as they moved on to the Elite Eight. “We dug out and gave ourselves a chance but we missed some easy opportunities,” said Head Coach Jim Shaw in the post-game press conference. “Give them credit, they played better than us. We turned them over and did a fantastic job in a game of this magnitude in taking care of the ball, but we just didn’t do enough good things to be successful tonight.”
This loss brought the team’s record breaking season to an end, finishing with a 31-2 overall record.
Contact the author at mswaim16@wou.edu
Photo by: Amber Holland
