Running Eagles (34-2) Defeat Georgetown (Kentucky) 61-59 in Final Seconds
Is Life University creating a national basketball dynasty? No, the Running Eagles are not in the final four of the NCAA tournament, nor the NIT, but when it comes to the NAIA, we're talking dynasty. The Running Eagles are the first team to repeat as NAIA Division I champions since Oklahoma City in 1991 and 1992. Life also won the 1997 tournament.
This year's victory mirrors last year's. In the 1999 NAIA final, Corey Evans of Life scored in the last seconds to beat Mobile (Alabama). In this year's championship game, the Georgetown Tigers, who won the NAIA in 1998, tied the contest on a 3-point basket with 26 seconds remaining. In Life's final possession, Jimmie Hunter weaved his way through the Georgetown defense, nearly lost the ball, but then managed to regain control to throw up a 15 footer that threaded the silk with 4 seconds remaining.
In the final seconds, Life's full court pressure defense didn't allow Georgetown to get off a shot. The Georgetown players complained that a foul was not called on their final possession.
Hunter, a first team NAIA All-American, led Life with 22 points and Carlos Jones contributed 13.
The game was an up and down struggle. The Tigers, who were coming off a quadruple overtime victory over Biola (Calif.), fell behind by as many as 14, but rallied in the second half to make it close. Life led at half time 33-20, but early in the second half, Hunter was forced to leave the game with back spasms. Team chiropractor Dr. John Downes administered to Hunter on the sidelines. The Tigers went on a 14-2 run to close the margin to two before Hunter returned to action.
Life's defensive pressure was the key, causing Georgetown to commit 13 turnovers in the first 17 minutes.
Life coach Roger Kaiser praised Georgetown as a "very good team," but ventured that his team won because "we had a bunch of guys who didn't quit."
