Myrick named MVP as Lincoln captures Association of Division III Independents Northeast Regional Championship tournament.

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY (February 25, 2006) - Lincoln University senior All-American guard Kyle Myrick capped an amazing week by scoring 49 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out six assists to lift the top-seeded Lions to a 99-79 victory over No. 2 seed Saint Joseph's College (Maine) in the championship game of the Association of Division III Independents tournament Saturday afternoon at Manuel Rivero Hall.

Myrick, the nation's leading scorer at 33.3 points per game, was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Association of Division III Independents Northeast Region championship tournament. Lincoln is ranked 18th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. It was Myrick's fifth tournament MVP award this season. He averaged 47.0 points per game as Lincoln (23-4 overall) won three games this week to extend its overall winning streak to nine and home court mastery to 16 games. Lincoln has defeated its opponents by an average of 29.3 points per game at home this season.

Myrick scored a Division III single game-high 62 points in Lincoln's 115-83 win over Penn State-Abington on Monday and he scored 30 points and dished out 14 assists in the the Lions' semifinal win over Mitchell College on Friday night. Myrick has scored 30 or more points in seven straight games and 15 times this season. Myrick upped his career total to 1,625 points. Lincoln has defeated 13 teams this season that posted winning records.

Joining Myrick in double digits for Lincoln was sophomore guard Tyreek Byard (11 points, six rebounds), sophomore guard Bryant Leach (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Thomas Hickson (10 points). In collecting his third double-double of the season, Leach was selected to the all-tournament team along with Hickson, Saint Joseph's College's Marcus Alexander and Matt Plummer, Mitchell's T.J. Smith and Newbury's Arch Mitchell, who sank a game-winning shot as time expired to give his team a thrilling, 61-59 victory in the consolation game.

The Monks (19-8) placed three players in double digits highlighted by Plummer's 18 points and nine rebounds. Noah LaRoche and Pat Mileski added 10 points each for Saint Joseph's.

Lincoln will find out if it is one of the 59 teams selected for the NCAA Division III tournament when the list of selected schools is released late Sunday night. The first and second round pairings will be announced Monday morning at 8 a.m.

The Lions were pushed for a half by the Monks, who trailed, 45-32, at intermission. Lincoln took control of the game midway through the second half after Alexander converted a layup to bring the Monks to within, 49-38, with 17 minutes, 44 seconds remaining. Lincoln went on a 26-7 run over the next six minutes to open a 75-45 lead with 11:05 remaining.

Myrick proved to be the catalyst during the burst by scoring 15 of the Lions 26 points during the six-minute stretch. Byard added six points during the run including an awesome dunk in which he double-pumped his arms before throwing it through the rim. The Monks continued battling until the final buzzer. They finished with 12 3-pointers.

Saint Joseph's, which led once in the game at 5-4 following a Mileski layup with 17:51 remaining in the first half, was within, 19-18, at the 9:05 mark of the opening 20 minutes after an Elbie Murphy basket. Lincoln scored seven consecutive points on a pair of Myrick baskets, a Leach free-throw and a Sami Wylie jumper to grab a 26-18 advantage with 7:30 remaining. The Lions opened their first double-digit lead with 3:29 remaining in the first half (34-24) after a Myrick basket. Chad Pulkkinen drilled a 3-pointer to slice Lincoln's lead to 38-30 with 2:21 left in the first half.

However, Myrick finished the first half with a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Lincoln a 13-point cushion at the break. Myrick scored 20 points in the opening half.

The consolation contest was literally good to the last drop. Mitchell's Smith made a pair of foul shots with six seconds remaining to tie the game at 59-59. After a timeout, Newbury inbounded the ball underneath of its basket. Arch Mitchell took the pass and drove the length of the court and put a short jumper from 10 feet that touched the bottom of the net.

Mitchell's basket capped a wild and frenetic final six minutes that featured three ties and four lead changes. Newbury took its first lead of the game on a Kevin Cleveland jumper with 6:11 remaining. The Nighthawks, who finished with a 10-17 record, extended their lead to 57-53 on a pair of Walky Magloire foul shots with 3:18 remaining.

The Nighthawks trailed by as many nine points in the first half, 32-23, with 2:17 remaining. They closed the half by scoring seven of the final nine points to trail, 34-30, at intermission. Mitchell and Matthew Stanton scored 15 points each to pace Newbury. Magloire contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

The Pequots (7-20) had three players reach double digits highlighted by guard David Andrade's 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. James Dunleavy notched 12 points and seven rebounds. Smith added 11 points for Mitchell, which also got nine points and seven rebounds from Chris Brown. Smith scored nine of his points after intermission.

The Association of Division III Independents consists of 18 Division III independent institutions that have joined together to recognize student-athletes at independent institutions, and to provide exempted postseason championship competition in nine sports in 2005-06. The Association recognizes outstanding athletic achievements of its student-athletes on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. For the second year, the Association provides statistical services for its members in seven sports. In addition, it also will announce all-Independent teams at the conclusion of nine sports this year.

Game Stats:

Mitchell College vs Newbury College (02/25/06 at Manuel Rivero Hall--Lincoln Univ., PA.)

St. Joseph's (Me.) vs #18 Lincoln University, (PA.) (02/25/06 at Manuel Rivero Hall--Lincoln Univ., PA.)

Newbury College vs St. Joseph's (Me.) (02/24/06 at Manuel Rivero Hall--Lincoln Univ., PA.)

Mitchell College vs #18 Lincoln University, (PA.) (02/24/06 at Manuel Rivero Hall--Lincoln Univ., PA.)

 

 

Close Window