Alex Harrison is peaking at the right time, with a season-high 26 points in the ASC quarterfinal vs. LeTourneau. Sul Ross State athletics photo

By Rob Knox

People probably thought Sul Ross State coach Cliff Carroll bumped his head when he laid out his expectations for the men’s basketball program after he was hired last summer.

“I took the job here thinking we could win championships here,” Carroll said. “I know people probably thought I was crazy and didn’t believe me, but I knew we could change the culture and build something special here. I expected to have a good year.”

The Lobos didn’t exactly start at the bottom, but Carroll inherited the reins of a program that won five games last year. Under Carroll, SRSU is the most improved team in the ASC moving from five to 10 conference wins and just five overall wins a year ago to 15 this season.

Now, Sul Ross is the Division III men’s basketball capital of Texas as it’s hosting this weekend’s ASC tournament for the first time since 2004. Sul Ross (16-9 overall) won the ASC West Division regular season crown with a 10-4 conference record, which earned the Lobos the coveted host position.

Located in Alpine, which is closer to New Mexico and California than it is to some of its conference rivals, the town is fired up to have everybody spend time in western Texas.

“We have some of the best Division III basketball in the country right here in our 'house,'” said Bill Kibler, Sul Ross president. “We welcome our visitors to our campus, as well as the unique opportunity for Sul Ross to showcase its amazing university, students, faculty/staff, alumni, facilities, and hospitality.”

This is a happening for the entire Sul Ross State community and Carroll is excited to help them experience a special week of hoops. Sul Ross opened the tournament by defeating LeTourneau 97-72 in Thursday’s quarterfinals behind Alex Harrison’s sparkling season-high 26-point performance. He was 11-for-12 from the field. The Lobos will face a familiar foe as they will square off with Hardin-Simmons on Friday in one semifinal.

The other semifinal matches East Texas Baptist against Louisiana College. The ASC title Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Central Time. For East Texas Baptist and Louisiana College, it’s a two-day trip to get to Alpine.

“It’s so remote out here,” Carroll said. “We are about as far west in Texas that you can go. Our shortest drive to play a conference game is five hours. So having the tournament here gives us homecourt advantage. Our administration has been terrific and has embraced us hosting.”

Of course, since Alpine is not used to hosting a basketball tournament of this magnitude, there have been logistical challenges such as competing with the 30th Annual Cowboy Poetry Festival that booked most of the nearby hotels. Aside from that minor inconvenience, Sul Ross State has rolled out the red carpet for its guests. 

Carroll along with a terrific group of players immediately embracing his coaching style has helped the Lobos enjoy a memorable year. Carroll led Sul Ross State to its first West Division title since 2005 and fourth overall. 

“It started with changing the culture and having the mindset that we’re no longer the doormat of the ASC in every sport. Sul Ross has been picked last in many preseason polls across different sports. I knew I wanted to change that mindset. I told the kids that we are going to win. Give them credit because, the kids bought into it. You can’t have the type of year we are having if they don’t buy in. I always knew the talent was here.”

The balanced Lobos have been paced for much of the season by the high scoring triumvirate of sophomore Caleb Thomasson, Harrison and senior Rocky Feliciano. They give Sul Ross three of the top players in the nation, which makes them a difficult riddle to solve for opponents.

Thomasson leads SRSU in scoring (13.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.4 per game). He’s been a force, also averaging 1.4 blocked shots per outing. He had a season-high five blocked shots against Texas-Tyler. Overall, Thomasson has blocked at least three shots in a game six times this season.

Harrison averages 13.0 points per game. He has scored in double digits 15 times this season.

Feliciano, who averages 12.9 points per contest, was Steph Curry-like from the foul line this season hitting 102-of-111 for a league-best .919 percentage. Feliciano also wrote his name in the ASC record book three times for perfect games at charity stripe hitting all 13, 14 and 16 shots in three separate contests.

Feliciano dropped 32 points in 31 minutes on 10-of-12 shooting on senior night against Concordia this season. It was his second 30-point outing of the season and part of a stretch in which he reached double digits in seven out of eight games.

“He shoots the cover off the ball,” Collins said. “He can score in a variety of ways and he’s a tough kid. Once he bought in, he became a complete player, which has been great to see.”

Also making meaningful contributions for the Lobos have been Brock Anders (9.4 points per game), Jacob Dawson (9.2), and Xavier Webb (8.9). They’ve each enjoyed shining moments this season.

Anders had consecutive 20-point games against Concordia Texas and Mary-Hardin Baylor. He has scored in double figures 11 times this season. Dawson scored a season-high 23 points against Belhaven. Webb had a stretch in which he scored in double figures 10 times during a 12-game stretch in the middle of the season highlighted by a 22-point performance against Southwest.

The turnaround for Sul Ross State came after losing to Division II UT-Permian Basin, 102-82, to drop to 0-4 on the season. Instead of packing it in, the Lobos calmly won 16 of their next 21 games to put themselves in position to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since that magical year of 2004 when they advanced to the Sweet 16.

That’s when I had buy-in from the players,” Carroll said. “I knew we had the chance to do something special. We feel like we can any game at home especially with our crowd behind us. I would be willing to bet that there weren’t many people walking the streets of Alpine.”

MAC Commonwealth surprises

It’s not a typo to see that Arcadia is hosting Lycoming in the MAC Commonwealth title game on Saturday night at Alumni Gymnasium at 7 p.m. It may not have been what anybody forecasted at the start of the conference tournament, but both squads have played well this week to earn the sacred opportunity to potentially keep dancing.

Arcadia advanced to the title game following a 71-67 upset win at second-seeded Lebanon Valley on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Warriors pulled off a pair of road upsets en route to the title game, first with an 89-75 win at fourth-seeded Stevenson on Monday, and then a 69-53 triumph at top-seeded, and defending conference champion Alvernia Wednesday.

Arcadia is hosting its first conference title game since becoming an NCAA Division III member for the 1993-94 season (then known as Beaver College). The Knights are seeking their first NCAA Tournament bid in program history. Arcadia is looking for its third win over Lycoming this season as it swept the regular season series, including a thrilling 86-84 finish in Glenside in the last meeting. Thompson led the Knights to the win with a key three with 10.4 ticks to go and converted a free throw with three ticks left in regulation to cap the scoring.

Senior John Landro sets the pace in scoring for Arcadia at 16.1 points per game, placing him fifth in the MAC Commonwealth. The Cornwall, N.Y., native has been one of the most effective shooters in the conference, with his 42.4 percent field goal percentage ranking ninth in the league and his 37.4 3-point field goal percentage ranking fourth. Kelley has been a key piece to the Knights' success on both ends of the floor averaging 12.7 points per game on 44 percent shooting, while registering a team-best 52 steals.

Freshman Josh Scott rounds out the active Knights averaging double-figures with 12.2 points per game. Scott was named the 2015-16 MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year.

Scott along with Slone power the Knights rebounding effort at 5.1 and 4.9 boards per game, respectively. Cohen has been strong down the stretch posting three double-digit scoring efforts in the last four games.

The Warriors have scorched the nets in the first two rounds of the playoffs, shooting an insane 55 percent. Junior Nykolas King is leading the way with 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and sophomore Chris Wallace is adding 15.5 points.

Despite missing two games with an injury, King leads the Warriors in scoring and rebounding at 12.9 points per game (14th in MAC Commonwealth) and 6.2 rebounds per game (ninth). King is also third on the team in steals with 32 (1.3 per game), which is 12th in the conference. In 25 games this season, the 6-2 post player has scored in double figures 18 times and he is second on the squad with two double-doubles.

The Warriors have shot better than 50 percent in back-to-back games, the first time since December 2013 that the team accomplished that. Freshman T.J. Duckett's 61 3-pointers are the most for a Warrior since Jonathan Pribble hit 74 in 2005-06.

NESCAC women in familiar location

Tufts earned the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament for the fourth straight year due in large part to a stifling defense that has held opponents to 44.0 points per game on 32.3 percent shooting, which both rank second in the league. The Jumbos have only allowed more than 53 points in two games this season, both resulting in losses to NESCAC foes Bowdoin and Connecticut College in non-conference action.

Since suffering a setback to the Camels on Dec. 12, Tufts has registered 17 consecutive victories, including ending Amherst’s triple-figure home winning streak. The Jumbos, who are averaging 60.3 points per game, are looking to reach their fourth final in five years.

Sophomore Melissa Baptista scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter as the Jumbos pulled away from eighth-seeded Middlebury in a 68-36 quarterfinal victory last Saturday. Tufts owned a 12-point lead at intermission, but the Jumbos came out hot in the third quarter, outscoring the Panthers, 26-6, to take command of the game.

Junior Michela North is a force in the paint, averaging a double-double with 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the field. Sophomore Lauren Dillon is averaging 4.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game, which both rank second in the conference, while Baptista and senior Emma Roberson are chipping in more than nine points per game.

Saturday’s second semifinal features a pair of familiar postseason foes as No. 2 Amherst (24-1, 9-1 NESCAC) takes on No. 3 Bowdoin (20-5, 8-2 NESCAC) in the semifinal round for the fourth straight year. Amherst cruised into the semifinals with an 82-29 triumph over seventh-seeded Bates. The Polar Bears punched their ticket into the semifinals by virtue of a 73-50 quarterfinal win over sixth-seeded Williams.

Around the Nation was writen by Rob Knox during the 2015-16 season. A former Division III Sports Information Director at Lincoln University, Rob Knox also worked at Coppin State, ESPN, Kutztown and at the Delaware County (Pa.) Daily Times. He was inducted into the Lincoln University Athletics Hall of Fame, named the CoSIDA Rising Star Award College Division winner and won three writing awards for various game stories including the 2007 D-III sectional triple-OT game between Guilford and Lincoln. In the past, he has also written articles for SLAM magazine and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a die-hard Philadelphia sports fan, a graduate of Lincoln and is from Chester, Pa.