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>Basketball
MEN'S BASKETBALL
NCCAA National Champions 1985,1986,1987
NCCAA National Runner-Up 1984,1988
NCCAA Mid-East Region Champions 1981,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1994, 2001, 2002, 2008
January 4th, 2008
Eagles Defeat Weber International University 83-81 in Thrilling Road Win
The weather in Orlando, Florida has been in the 80's as the CCU men's team has been in Florida for the Dominoes Webber Invitational, but nothing was hotter than the shooting of Jake Santel and Brett West who combined to go 8 for 10 from the three-point line (West 3/4, Santel 5/6) as the Eagles upset the host Warriors 83-81 in the finale of the tournament on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles move to 8-6 and stop a three-game skid, while Webber International drops to 9-4. The Eagles were led by Jake Santel with 19, Brett West with 17, and Vondaze Thornton, who was named to the all-tournament team as he tallied 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Eagles. The Eagles overcame two 8-point deficits in the first half, yet fought back to take a 4-point halftime lead at 42-38. The Eagles fell behind again by 7 but would not be denied coming back to tie the game at 70 with just under 4 minutes remaining. Two huge Santel threes and a Thornton putback and foul shot stretched the lead to 77-70 and the Eagles held on for the 83-81 win.
"This has been a great trip for the guys, and I'm so proud of how they hung in there today”, said head coach Mark Harden. “There were many chances to fold their tents but we just hung in there and finally shot the ball like we're capable. Brett West was simply awesome; he has really played well off the bench for us the past three or four games, and not just shooting the ball, but rebounding, defending, and doing the little things. Santel was huge in the last 3 minutes with those huge threes when they went zone. He really bounced back after struggling on Saturday. Obviously Vondaze deserved to make the all-tournament team with the way he performed this weekend. I am really proud of our guys for giving a total team effort."
The Eagles now play their first KIAC game of the year against two-time defending champion IU Southeast on Thursday in New Albany, Indiana.
December 28th, 2008
Shorthanded Eagles Fall in Exhibition to NCAA-I Liberty University
Playing an NCAA Divsion I game is a tall task for any NAIA school. Playing an NCAA Division I school that is fresh off a win at the University of Virginia and one that lost a 5-point decision to undefeated and top 25-ranked Clemson is even tougher. Now play that game without three of your top four scorers and your leading rebounder. If that sounds like a tall task, that is exactly what your CCU Golden Eagles did on Sunday, falling to the Flames, 86-55. The Eagles dressed only 8 players for the contest, but fought valiantly throughout. Down 24 at the half, the Eagles battled evenly with the Flames for most of the second half (40-33) and more than held their own. "Tough game to go in shorthanded, but I thought our kids competed well for most of the game. I told Coach McKay that we would and we did. It would have been nice to have those guys play, but the guys that did, played well for most of the game and have nothing to be ashamed of."
The Eagles were led by Jake Santel with 15 points and Nathanael Harney with 11 points. Brett West and David Pritchard chipped in 9 apiece off the bench. The Eagles now travel to Florida for a weekend tournament vs. SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) who are coached by NBA legend Cazzie Russell, who was the national player of the year at Michigan and went on to be the #1 overall pick in the NBA draft in 1967. Russell played 12 years in the NBA winning an NBA Championship in 1970 with the New York Knicks. Russell is in his 12th season with SCAD. The Eagles face SCAD at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and face host Webber University on 4:00 on Sunday.
December 21st, 2008
Eagles Return Home 7-5 After Malone Tournament
CCU dropped the first game to the host Pioneers of Malone 79-71 on Friday night. The Pioneers held a comfortable 42-28 lead at halftime but then had to hold off a strong second half push by the visiting Eagles to register the nine-point win. With the victory, Malone improved its overall record to 3-9 on the season while Cincinnati Christian fell to 7-4. Malone went on a 27-5 run midway through the opening stanza to take 14-point advantage into the locker room at intermission. The Pioneers then stretched their lead to as many as 21 points in the opening minutes of the second frame before the Eagles stormed back, out-scoring Malone 28-8 over the next 13 minutes to trim the hosts' advantage to just one at 60-59. Cincinnati Christian was unable to take the lead, however, and the Pioneers closed the game on an 10-2 run over the final four minutes to cement the victory. Malone shot 50% (17 of 34) from the field in the first half as it built its sizable lead but was not quite as successful in the second half, connecting on just nine of its 26 (34.6%) field goal attempts.
CCU fell to Lake Erie College, an NCAA Division II team on Saturday, 95-76. The Eagles were led by Nathanael Harney's 21 points and 8 rebounds in his first collegiate start. Harney was also named to the all-tournament team as he totaled 34 points for the tournament. The Eagles played dead even with Lake Erie for most of the game, but a late run in the second half ballooned an 8-point advantage to 15 and the Eagles did not recover. The Eagles now stand at 7-5, but Coach Harden says some good has come out of this stretch. "Anytime you're forced to play without your two leading scorers and your leading rebounder, it's a tough chore, but when you play the caliber of teams we played this weekend it's really tough. However, Harney played really well this weekend, as did senior David Pritchard (15 points on Saturday) and Mace was pretty effective too. When we get Trent Calloway back, we'll be a better team because these guys and others have had to step up as Trent as missed the last four game. We played horribly offensively on Friday night and if we'd just taken a little better care of the ball, we would have won in my opinion, but we turned around and played vs. Lake Erie who pressed us full-court for the full 40 minutes and only turned it over 10 times, we just missed shots and stopped rebounding for an important stretch in the second half."
The Eagles will now face NCAA Division I Liberty University in an exhibition of December 28 at 3:00 p.m.. Liberty is led by super-freshman Seth Curry who leads all of NCAA DI in scoring for freshmen and whose brother is player of the year candidate Stephon Curry of Davidson. Liberty has been playing extremely well, already defeating Virginia at Virginia and taking Clemson down to the wire two weeks ago. "Huge challenge but should be a lot of fun for our kids. This is a trip we've been looking forward to as soon as the schedule was finalized."
December 17th, 2008
Eagles Fall 78-65 to Mount St. Joseph
Sheldon McNeil scored 18 points while shooting 4 of 8 from three point range.
The Lions of Mt. St. Joes used a 14-1 run to start the game to put the Eagles in a huge hole. It was a hole they could not climb out of eventually losing 78-65. The loss moves the Eagles record to 7-3 on the year. The Eagles fought valiantly throughout the first half, cutting the lead to 33-31 in the first half. However, a 3 at the buzzer by Chris Cioffi of MSJ put the Eagles down by 5 at the break. The Eagles fell behind by 12 to start the second half, but fought back once again to within 4 at 55-51 before a 7-0 run fueled by missed CCU free throws and two costly turnovers turned into three-pointers for MSJ turned the 4-point lead into an 11-point lead at 62-51. The Eagles closed twice within 6 points in the last few minutes, but again, the free throw line proved to kill all the momentum of the Eagles charge. The Eagles were led by Sheldon McNeil's 18 points, and Jake Santel added 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Vondaze Thornton chipped in 11 as well.
"The statistics of the game were dead even except for two areas. We go 11-21 from the free throw line which is abysmal and they shoot 12-22 (55%) from 3, that is the game. We shot ourselves in the foot by not making free throws in the second half and they just shot it unbelievable from 3 and a lot of those were pretty contested, so you have to tip your hat to them. But rebounding was dead even, turnovers were dead even, we shot it 48% to their 47%, we just didn't make free throws and didn't shoot it as well from 3 as they did."
The Eagles move on to play in the Canton Comfort Inn Tournament hosted by Malone University. The Eagles will face the host Pioneers in the 8:00 game on Friday with the winners playing the winner of the Grace College (#25 in NAIA top 25) and Lake Erie College (NCAA II). The consolation game is at 1:00 on Saturday.
December 13th, 2008
CCU Sweeps Weekend Games vs. OCU and OU Lancaster
CINCINNATI, OH - The CCU Golden Eagles moved to 7-2 on the season with two big wins in contrasting styles over the weekend. On Friday, the Eagles avenged an earlier lackluster performance vs. OCU and defeated the Trailblazers 67-59. The Eagles held the Trailblazers to 38% shooting and won a hard fought game despite only connecting on 7 field goals themselves in the second half. The Eagles were led by Trent Calloway's 15 points in just 20 minutes of action, while freshman Nathanael Harney added a career high 12 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Jake Santel also chipped in with 10 points. Coach Harden was very pleased with the play of young Harney who is being called upon to do double-duty in his freshman year backing up Tommy McGuire who is filling in for injured starter Chris Scott who may miss the year with a broken foot. "Harney was awesome tonight. He defended, he rebounded, he scored, and for him to get those 4 assists while only committing one turnover was fantastic. They are a tough matchup for us when they play that small lineup, but we adjusted and guys made big plays when we needed them."
On Saturday it was a game of huge swings as OU Lancaster brought its 9-1 record to President's Hall on Saturday. The Eagles were forced to play without their leading scorer and rebounder, Trent Calloway, who sat the game with a knee injury. The Eagles needed players to step up in his absence and they did in a big way. Coming off the bench for the 3rd consecutive game, Drew Ellis scored 14 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead 5 CCU players in double figures as the Eagles came from 7 down with 5 minutes to force overtime before eventually prevailing 86-81. The Eagles showed a ton of character in this one as they started the games strongly, building leads as large as 15 before foul trouble and a valiant run by the Cougars saw the Eagles lead by only a point at the half,39-38. The Eagles started poorly and fell behind early in the second half. The lead was stretched to 7 with just under 5 minutes to play. However, the pressure defense of the Eagles forced consecutive turnovers and the Eagles clawed back as Sheldon McNeil made two huge threes to knot the game at 72-72. The Cougars had one last chance to win the game in regulation, but failed to convert. The overtime was all Eagles who stormed ahead by 7 and held off a rally at the end of the overtime to defeat the Cougars. CCU was lead by Jake Santel's 16 points and 5 assists. Michael Smith scored a career high 14 points and added 7 rebounds, while Vondaze Thornton filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. However, a total team effort is all Coach Harden saw. "I'm so proud of how our kids responded to the adversity tonight. Down by 7 to come back was phenomenal. Sheldon McNeil (12 points in 10 minutes) made some big shots and Tommy played a great game I thought (9 points, 7 assists); his steal was huge in the comeback. I'm just real proud of how all our guys played in Trent's absence; I thought we showed some real mental toughness and everyone contributed. We beat a really good team tonight; I'm very excited about how we responded."
The Eagles now prepare for a huge week with crosstown rival Mt. St. Joseph on Wednesday. The Eagles will then travel to Malone for a tournament that Grace College, host Malone University, and NCAA Division II Lake Erie College. "It's a real challenging week, and I'm excited to see where we're at. Guys are improving and we're playing better and getting more comfortable. We just need to get healthy and get through exams this week and this week should be a great test."
December 6th, 2008
Eagles Rout Johnson 107-46
Vondaze Thornton throws down the dunk in the first half against JBC.
CINCINNATI, OH - The CCU Men's Basketball Team put five players in double figures led by Sheldon McNeil's 17 points off the bench as the Eagles shot a blistering 61% for the game in a 107-46 win on Saturday at Thomas More College over Johnson Bible College. Also reaching double figures for the Eagles were Trent Calloway and Drew Ellis with 15, Jake Santel with 12, and Vondaze Thornton who had his first double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles defense held JBC to 32% for the game and forced 29 turnovers. All 11 players played at least 12 minutes in the contest and 10 players had 6 or more points. "I thought we did a nice job of ignoring the score at times where it would have been easy to make some lazy plays and mistakes and we guarded pretty well except for a 4-minute stretch in the second half." The Eagles return home for it's first home contest in three weeks on Friday vs. Ohio Christian University on Friday, December 12th.
#3 Ranked MVNU Too Much for Golden Eagles
If you would have told Coach Mark Harden that his CCU Golden Eagles would have a second half 22-2 run and play the #3 ranked Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars dead even for 30 minutes, he may have taken that and that may have had the Eagles on the verge of a historic upset. However, trailing by just 6 points with 7 minutes in the first half, the Eagles allowed the high-scoring Cougars to go on a 10-0 mini run to end the half, leaving the Eagles trailing by 16. What started out as a promising second half with the Eagles getting consecutive stops and getting to the free throw line, ended with four missed free throws, many empty trips, as the Eagles went scoreless for nearly 6 minutes to start the half as the Eagles missed their first 6 shots from the field and first 5 shots from the charity stripe. The end result...a 104-67 loss, despite the fact that CCU forced 27 turnovers, outscored the Cougars 39-37 for last 14:48 of the game, and literally played toe to toe with MVNU for 3/4 of the game. Unfortunately, a flurry of MVNU 3's and CCU missed 3's and easy buckets fueled a 24-0 run to start that second half.
"The first 14 minutes and last 14 minutes we relaxed and played quite well, but the end of the first half and the start of the second half we just couldn't throw it in the ocean and they just did what they do which is shoot the ball extremely well. We just weren't good enough for the whole 40 minutes." The Eagles were led by Trent Calloway's 21 points and 9 rebounds, with Chris Scott adding 12 points. "We force 27 turnovers but give it back 26 times ourselves. When we did stop them, we'd give up a second shot. I don't think the score indicates just how well we competed for large parts of the game. That run was just amazing from them; you have to give them credit."
The Eagles record now stands at 2-1, as they prepare for a home contest versus Boyce College on Saturday at 3:00 in President's Hall.
November 8th, 2008
Golden Eagles Sweep Weekend Tournament
For the fourth consecutive year, the CCU Golden Eagles Mens Basketball Team won their opening two games of the season in the CCU Tipoff Classic, defeating OU Chillicothe on Friday and Kuyper College on Saturday. In Friday''s victory, the Eagles were led by Trenton Calloway and his 23 points and 14 rebounds. Jake Santel contributed 12 points as all 12 Eagles scored in the contest. On Saturday afternoon, the Eagles defeated Kuyper 94-75 led by Brett West's 21 points, Chris Scott's 16 points, and Drew Ellis' 12 points. Again, all 12 Eagles scored in the contest. "Obviously, we're a completely different team in many respects this season. When you are trying to replace your top three scorers from the previous season, it will take some time for returning guys to change their role a bit, and for the new guys to understand how we like to play and where they are supposed to be."
Because the Eagles are playing two NCAA Division I exhibition games during the season, the Eagles did not have the benefit of a scrimmage before this weekend. "Without the benefit of a real scrimmage, we knew we'd make our share of mistakes and we did, but the kids competed hard both nights." As far as the Eagles depth it was in full display over the weekend, but it may be as much of a curse as a blessing this early in the year. "It's great that all 12 guys scored both nights, but it is a product of us trying to find the right combinations and what works. I was really proud of Luke Mace on Friday who made the most of his minutes and Nathanael Harney came in and played pretty well both nights also. They are going to be great players for CCU." The Eagles now have their hands full as Mt.Vernon Nazarene University will bring their #3 NAIA National Ranking to "The Nest" on Tuesday at 7:00. "What a great opportunity for our program to play against one of the nation's elite teams. They are absolutely loaded with great players and a great coaching staff and great tradition."
Eagles Fall in Exhibition vs. NCAA Division I Citadel
CHARLESTON, SC - The CCU Golden Eagles traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to take on the NCAA Division I Citadel Bulldogs on Saturday, November 22nd and more than held their own for much of the game. The Eagles took the first lead of the game on a deep 3 pt. shot by Chris Scott to beat the shot clock as the two teams see-sawed back and forth with The Citadel holding a 23-21 edge at the 10:12 mark in the first half. Shortly after, a 4-pt. play by the Citadel’s Zach Urbanus sparked a 9-0 run to put the Citadel up 32-21 eventually leading to 44-31 lead at the half.
The story of the first half and the game was foul trouble and free throws for the Eagles. The Citadel shot 17 free throws in the first half to the Eagles 5 trips to the line. “The game was called a little tight I thought for us in the first half, no doubt” remarked Coach Harden, “but I thought our guys did a good job of matching their intensity and more than stood up to them physically, but it was like starting the game down 12-0.” The Eagles fell behind 57-42 at the 11:00 mark of the second half, but an impressive 10-4 run saw the Eagles cut the lead to 9 points with just 6:19 remaining at 61-52. However, the foul bug came to haunt the Eagles again as Eagles leading scorer Trenton Calloway fouled out at the 6:04 mark and the Eagles would get no closer, falling 78-55. Calloway was limited to just 24 minutes in the contest as The Citadel outscored the Eagles 23-12 at the free throw line. However, the game had plenty of positives for CCU according to Coach Mark Harden.
“Our two freshmen were very good tonight and really stepped up. Nathanael Harney gets us 12 points (career high) and four rebounds. Luke Mace fueled a nice run for us with that monster dunk on the feed from Nathanael and got us 6 quick points, so as a coach you love to see your young players getting more comfortable playing at this level. Also, we outrebounded an NCAA Division I team for 40 minutes (32-31) and held a team that loves to shoot the 3 to just 29% while we shot it pretty well from 3 (7-15 for 47%), so I was pleased with how we played the vast majority of the game. With 6 minutes left we had a chance to win the game and the fouls and free throws just added up and the score nowhere near shows just how close the game was.”
The Eagles are 4-1 to start the year and will play at Ohio Christian University on Tuesday, December 2nd and will then play Johnson Bible College at Cincinnati Christian HS on Saturday, December 6th at 3:00.
November 15th, 2008
Eagles Roll to 3-1 With Win Over Boyce College
The CCU Golden Eagles moved to 3-1 with an 87-55 win over Boyce College . All 12 Eagles scored for the 3rd time this season as reserve guard Sheldon McNeil led the Eagles with 15 points. Also in double figures were Jake Santel and Chris Scott who each tallied 12 points. The Eagles made a season high 16 three-pointers with seven different Eagles connecting for threes. The Eagles jumped to several large leads throughout the game as the Eagle starters sat the last 10 minutes of the game with no starter playing more than 20 minutes. “It was good to see the shots fall today that haven’t been falling for the first few games,” Coach Harden remarked, “but we still need to do a better job of defending and rebounding consistently.”
The Eagles now hit the road for the first time this season versus rival Kentucky Christian University at 8:00 in Grayson , Kentucky on Tuesday night. “It’s always a tough game at KCU; we haven’t won there since I’ve been here, so it’s a chance for us to see where we’re at. I think we’re improving, but we’ve go a ways to go. The environment on Tuesday will be a fun one; we’re looking forward to it.”
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