CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Tournament MVP Chris Beals tossed in 22 points as the NAIA Division II No. 7 Yellow Jackets held off Taylor, 68-59, to win the 31st Annual Cedarville Invitational championship game. The outcome keeps CU unbeaten through six outings.
Cedarville went 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 2:20 to keep the Trojans at bay. A dunk by Daniel Rose at the 3:20 mark pushed the Jackets’ lead back to double figures at 61-50 after Taylor had snuck back to within five just two minutes earlier.
Cedarville fell into a 19-9 hole to start the contest, but the hosts responded with a 12-2 spurt to get back in it. Adam Riehle converted a free throw with 2:02 left in the half and the Jackets never trailed again eventually leading 37-31 at the intermission.
The Yellow Jackets clamped down defensively in the second period holding Taylor to 31.8 percent shooting (7-for-22). Cedarville’s largest lead was 52-39 with 12:30 left. The Trojans dip to 4-3 with the setback.
Beals buried four three-pointers while ringing up his season-high output. Ricardo Alliman totaled 14 points with a game-high eight rebounds. Rose, who joined Beals on the all-tournament team, added six points, seven boards, and two blocks. [STATS]
In the consolation game, Covenant picked up its first win of the season with a 63-53 decision over Urbana. [COVENANT/URBANA STATS]
31st Annual Cedarville University Invitational
Nov. 21-22, 2008
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Chris Beals, Cedarville (MVP)
Daniel Rose, Cedarville
Alex Daniel, Taylor
Reed Crosson, Covenant
Vitas Naudziunas, Urbana
Friday Scores
Taylor 50 Urbana 45
Cedarville 74 Covenant 47
Saturday Scores
Covenant 63 Urbana 53 (consolation)
Cedarville 68 Taylor 59 (championship)
Yellow Jacket captains (from left-to-right) Ryan Reep, Daniel Rose, and Grant Walker display the championship plaque from the 31st Annual Cedarville Invitational.