ASU's Madgen Honored By PBC

Jaguars lead league with two preseason all-conference selections

Web Posted 10/30/08

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State's Garret Siler and Ben Madgen (Williamstown, VIC) were named to the Peach Belt Conference preseason all-conference team Thursday, according to a release from the league office.

ASU led the way with two players chosen to the five-man squad. The team, which was chosen by the league's 11 sports information directors, also included USC Aiken All-American forward Chris Commons, Georgia Southwestern guard Anthony Sargent and Georgia College & State guard Shaun Keaton rounded out the team.

Siler and Madgen were two of a trio of All-Conference players that helped lead the Jaguars to the NCAA Tournament's National Championship game last season. A 7-0, 291-pound senior center from Augusta, Siler returns for his senior season after leading the NCAA among all divisions in field goal percentage (.762) last year. Named to the Elite Eight All-Tournament team and the South Atlantic Regional All-Tournament team, Siler led the PBC in rebounding last year with 7.8 per game and in blocks with 2.62 per outing. He was also ninth in scoring with a 15.6 ppg., average.

Madgen returns for his junior season at guard after scoring 16.0 ppg his sophomore year and earning All-Conference honors for the second straight season. The 6-4 native of Williamstown, Australia ranked second in the PBC in free throw percentage and 10th in three-pointers made.

Commons was one of two PBC players named an NABC All-American last year and the first Pacer to do so. He was named the PBC co-Player of the Year after helping the team to a school-record 27 wins. An all-league performer as a junior, Keaton was sixth in the PBC in scoring at 16.6 points per game. He finished second in the league in three-pointers made and eighth in three-point percentage. Keaton scored in double-digits in 25 contests and 11 games with 20 or more points.

Sargent led the Peach Belt in scoring last year with 22.0 points per game, although he was not ranked among NCAA leaders because GSW was completing its transition to full DII membership, which they accomplished over the summer. Returning for his senior season, the guard was named all-conference last year after leading the league in three-pointers made and was second in the PBC with 1.88 steals per game.

 

Manly's White career-high but Seawolf men lose heartbreaker in OT

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Humboldt State got a tip-in at the regulation buzzer and hit the key big shots in overtime Sunday to hand the Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team its third straight narrow loss to start the season, 83-81 at the Disney Div. II Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Sophomore guard Kevin White (Manly) scored a career-high 20 points for UAA, while junior forward Casey Robinson led all scorers with 22 points.

Freshman Elliot Babcock-Krenk came off the bench to hit three three-pointers for Humboldt State (1-2), while forward Kyle Baxter and reserve center David Howard had 12 points apiece for the California school.

In the final three minutes of regulation, Babcock-Krenk twice gave the Lumberjacks a one-point lead with long-range shots, but the Seawolves managed to counter, taking a two-point advantage of their own when Robinson (8-16 FG, 4-9 3FG, 7 rebounds) drained a three-pointer with 7 seconds remaining. Humboldt State's Ernie Spada missed a potential game-winning three, but Zac Tiedeman tipped the ball back into the basket to force overtime.

Babcock-Krenk nailed two more threes to start the overtime, and Colt Mathews and Tiedeman hit critical free throws down the stretch. White drove for the potential tying basket, but Babcock-Krenk blocked the shot to end the contest.

White had three treys for the Seawolves, playing 41 minutes, while senior center Jeremiah Trueman scored also had a career-high with 16 points (4-6 FG, 8-8 FT). Sophomore guard Brandon Walker, a transfer from nearby Loyola Marymount, was the fourth Seawolf in double figures with 12 points (4-8 FG, 2-4 3FG).

Senior guard Kenny Barker, who came in with a team-high 20.0 ppg average over the first two games, was held to just four points (0-3 FG, 4-4 FT) while battling foul trouble.

UAA lost despite leading 41-30 at halftime and by as many as 12 points in the second half. The Seawolves also committed 17 turnovers to HSU’s eight.

UAA did shoot a respectable 9 of 25 (36 percent) from the three-point line, while making better than 80 percent (26-29, 89.7 percent) from the free-throw line for the third straight day.

The Seawolves do not return to the court until Nov. 26 when they host Division I Hampton in the first round of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena.

Seawolf men fall 66-62 to Ft. Lewis

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Nov. 8) – Senior guard Kenny Barker had another prolific offensive outing as the Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team dropped its second straight close decision, losing 66-62 Saturday against Fort Lewis in the Disney Division II West Coast Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Barker had 19 points and seven assists for UAA (0-2), while junior forward Casey Robinson chipped in 13 points and sophomore guard Lonnie Rideway scored a career-high 11 points.

Fort Lewis (2-0), meanwhile, rode the sharpshooting inside-outside combination of center Kirk Archibeque and guard Ryan Jameson, who totaled 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting.

The three-point line was a deciding factors as the Skyhawks nailed 9 of 17 (52 percent) to UAA’s 6 of 25 (24 percent). Rebounding also hurt UAA, which got out-boarded by double-digits for the second day in a row, 34-24.

Saturday’s game was a dogfight early with the teams switching leads throughout the first half. Ridgeway hit a field goal and sank one of two free throws with 4 minutes to play in the first half, tying the contest, 20-20, for the fifth time.

Fort Lewis – the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference West Division preseason favorite – would use an 8-2 run to end the half, however, then stretched its lead as high as 44-27 with 12 minutes left.

The Seawolves still trailed by 59-47 after the 3-minute mark before Barker (5-8 FG, 2-3 3FG, 7-8 FT) made a pair of free throws to start a furious comeback.

A pair of Skyhawk turnovers opened the door for the Seawolves, who got two more charities from Rideway and a three-pointer from sophomore guard Brandon Walker to make it 59-54.

UAA continued to claw but would only get as close as 64-62 with one second left, and the Durango, Colo., squad closed the game with a pair of free throws.

Kevin White (Manly) finished with 3 points on 1-of-6 from the field.

The Seawolves get another chance for their first win Sunday when they play West Region and former Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Humboldt State (0-2) at 12:30 p.m. AST.