DON McCORMACK
Paying another visit to the variety store...
Among the elite
Tom Church most assuredly would not look good in a pair of glass slippers, but Cinderella certainly did.
And, as they say, if the shoe fits, wear it.
Church, the former Conneaut basketball great and later the head coach at his alma mater, and the rest of the Saint Joseph’s University Pumas are by far and away the biggest Cinderella story in the history of the Division II national tournament.
The Pumas became the first eighth seed to ever win a D-II regional tournament when they recorded a thrilling 104-103 triple-overtime victory against Quincy (Ilinois) late Tuesday night to capture the Midwest Regional championship in Owensboro, Kent.
Saint Joseph’s is a private liberal arts Catholic school with a little more than 1,000 students from Rensselaer, located in the northwest corner of Indiana.
In his third season as the lead assistant for the Pumas, Church helped the squad win three games by a combined five points and played four overtimes to get through the regional tournament and reach the Elite Eight.
Saint Joseph’s will be part of a field that also includes Bentley University (Mass.), Augusta State (Ga.) , Cal Poly Pomona, Valdosta State (Ga.), Indiana University (Pa.), Midwestern State University of Wichita Falls, Texas and St. Cloud State (Minn.).
The Elite Eight will square off next Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. to determine the 2009-10 Division II national champion.
Next for Church & Co. will be a matchup against Cal Poly Pomona — the national runner-up last season — in a quarterfinal clash Wednesday.
The Pumas began their trek to the Elite Eight with a 72-70 win against host Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday.
They followed that up with a 78-76 verdict against Grand Valley State (Mich.) the next night, which set the stage for their extra-effort victory against Quincy late Tuesday night.
With a 20-11 record, Saint Joseph’s has the fewest wins and the most losses among the eight finalists. However, none of the eight teams still alive has ever won a Division II championship. And having only three regional No. 1 seeds make the Elite Eight is the fewest since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 2003.
If Church and the rest of the Saint Joseph’s squad wins Wednesday night, its semifinal game Thursday will be broadcast on CBS College Sports. The championship game Saturday will be broadcast on CBS, with tipoff slated for 1 p.m.
Extra credit
T.J. Furman is known across the area sports circle for being the junior-varsity boys basketball coach and varsity track coach at Jefferson.
Apparently, he’s not too shabby in the classroom, either.
Furman was honored at the Cavaliers-Pacers game Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena as the Ohio Lottery Teacher of the Month.
Face the facts
Coaches of area high school spring sports squads are reminded today is the deadline to have your respective teams’ informational fact sheet you were sent a few weeks ago returned.
The sheets can be faxed our way at 998-7938.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
