No. 1 seed Fairmont State faces upset-minded Rollins to open Elite Eight

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Equipped with one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses, Fairmont State enters the NCAA Division-II Elite Eight as the No. 1 seed.

The Falcons (32-2) meet No. 8 seed Rollins College (24-10) in Wednesday’s national quarterfinal, a matchup of contrasting tempos.

“You’re going to see two totally different styles,” said Fairmont State coach Jerrod Calhoun. “We like to press, be aggressive and fly around and they like to run back miss or make and get in the zone.”

Tipoff is 1 p.m. Eastern at the Sanford Pentagon.

While Fairmont State spent much of the season ranked at or near the top of the D-II rankings, Rollins heated up late by winning its last 11 games.

The Tars were the No. 7 seed out of eight teams in the South Region, but they survived overtime to edge Valdosta State 89-85 before shocking region host Alabama-Huntsville 72-68. They have trailed in all but two wins this season and rallied from double-digit deficits seven times.

“This is a team that won’t give up,” Calhoun said. “They never feel like they’re out of any game so we’ve got to be prepared to play hard and play well for a full 40 minutes. They’re a young team so I think it took them some time this season to get it rolling, but I definitely think they’re playing their best basketball right now.”

Since losing to West Liberty in the Mountain East Conference tournament title game, Fairmont State has beaten Bowie State 93-67, Indiana (Pa.) 84-68 and MEC rival Wheeling Jesuit 86-80.

The Falcons score 96 points per game, third-most in the nation, and feed their transition offense by ranking third in steals. Guard Matt Bingaya, the MEC player of the year who averages 19.4 points and 7.5 rebounds, earned first-team All-American honors from Basketball Times on Monday.

Calhoun garnered national coach of the year honors.

Now the Falcons, back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1998, hope to seize the ultimate team award in Sioux Falls.

“I think all eight teams are really good,” Calhoun said. “I don’t think it matters if you’re the 1 seed or the 8, it’s going to be very competitive.”

Along with Bingaya, the Falcons have ample firepower in Thomas Winbush (16.0 points), Jason Jolly (12.1),  D’Ondre Stockman (11.1) and Vonte Montgomery (10.6).

Backup guard Shammgod Wells leads the team with 5.7 assists.

NCAA D-II Elite Eight (all times Eastern)

Quarterfinals – Wednesday
1 p.m. – Fairmont State vs. Rollins
3:30 pm – Bellarmine vs. Colorado School of Mines
7 pm – Northwest Missouri State vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
9:30 pm – Lincoln Memorial vs. Chico State

Semifinals – Thursday
7 p.m.
9:30 p.m.

National championship – Saturday
3 p.m.





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