2010 ACCA National Tournament Summary

#1 Champion Baptist College vs. #8 Arlington Baptist College (Arlington, TX)
This was the third time these two teams would meet this year.  In game one, the Tigers won at home by 17 points, while the second game in Arlington would be much different.  With a limited roster for this road game, the Patriots took the Tigers to double overtime before falling 103-97.  Because of this, Arlington had some confidence thinking they could knock off the #1 seeded Tigers during the tournament.

Knowing this, the Tigers came out with stifling defense early and established a physical presence inside forcing 10 turnovers in the first half, and limiting the Patriots to zero offensive rebounds establishing a 36-21 halftime lead.  Coach Fredericks said, “We really wanted to establish early on that there would be NO UPSETS taking place in the opening round of this tournament, and the guys responded well in the first half.”

In the second half, Champion opened up with a 12-4 run to extend the lead to 23 when James Manthe stole a cross court pass and headed to the hoop and dunked home any hopes Arlington may have had at a comeback.  The momentum and the game was clearly in the Tigers favor.

Champion was once again led by 2010 ACCA Player of the year James Manthe who had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals.  Freshman B.J. Likins had 12 points and 16 rebounds with 3 blocks and 3 steals himself.  “Our whole team really stepped up defensively and forced Arlington to take some very difficult shots out of their offense,” said Coach Fredericks.

Kyle Kinzer stepped up with 11 points going 3-6 from the 3 point line and Byrd, Hendershot, Grego, McGonagle and Pride were huge playing "selfless" ball yet contributing collectively for 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Final Score: Champion 71 Arlington 48
Box Score

#1 Champion Baptist College vs. #5 Barclay College (Havilland, KS)
For the second straight year, the Tigers defeated the Barclay College Bears on their way to the championship game. The Tigers held a steady 8 to 10 point lead through much of the second half and hit clutch free throws to ice the game. James Manthe showed why he received the ACCA player of the year, by racking up 38 points on 15 of 27 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers.

Overcoming a sluggish 13 to 7 deficit to start to the game, the Tigers quickly fought back after Barclay star Josh Sanchez had to leave the game picking up 3 early fouls trying to guard James Manthe. Forced to sit their best player, Barclay shot 27% for the half as they found themselves trailing 31 to 24. The Tigers relied heavily on Manthe and freshmen B.J Likins in the first half as the duo accounted for 26 of the 31 Champion points. Unfortunately the Tigers allowed 14 first half offensive rebounds.

“Our team defense once again was great, but today we gave up entirely too many offensive rebounds,” said Coach Fredericks.  Offensively other than Manthe and Likins, the Tigers did struggle a bit, however, because of their defense, spearheaded by Kyle Kinzer who was terrific in the post, frustrating Barclay’s terrific post player, Trent Mullikin, who shot 6-17 from the field and seemed to be frustrated most of the game.

Final Score: Champion 68 Barclay 58
Box Score

#1 Champion Baptist College vs. #3 Shepherd College (Memphis, TN)
Champion Baptist College has brought its third national championship home to Hot Springs, Ar!  The Tigers entered the ACCA National Tournament as the #1 seed and was favored to repeat as National Champions which won it all in 2007, and last year in 2009.  Standing between the Tigers goal of Back-2-Back National Titles would be Shepherd College.

The Tigers beat Shepherd twice this year before the tournament, but the eagles would do all they could to make sure they would not allow the Tigers to win the championship.  The Tigers were led by James Manthe and B.J. Likins.  These two have provided the 1-2 punch for the Tigers all year, but the question has always been, who would step up from the rest of the team. 

“Each game we play, we know what we’ll get from James and B.J., but it takes a few minutes before we can figure out which teammates will be stepping up in this particular game, and tonight it was our senior, Damon Grego.” Players are admonished to play games as if it were their last, and as a senior, Grego did just that.  Though his stats (12 points and 4 rebounds) don’t compare with Likins and Manthe, it was the timing of his plays that made the difference. None was bigger than when he secured an offensive rebound and put it back in to give the Tigers their final lead of the game at 50-49 with 10 minutes to go in the game.

Likins was the most consistent during this championship game, ending with 28 points and 22 rebounds, as he carried the Tigers in the first half going 7 of 12 from the field (2-3 from 3-point land) for 16 points and 16 rebounds. Though Manthe struggled in the 1st half only shooting 2 of 11 from the field, he made up for it in the 2nd half going  7-7 and finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assist. 

The Tigers trailed for most of the 1st half shooting only 34% from the field, but Coach Fredericks wasn’t too worried as he mentioned, “Our Defense was forcing Shepherd to take tough shots, and we were getting great open looks offensively, and other than Likins in the 1st half, (7 of 12 from the field [2-3 from 3-point land] for 16 points and 16 rebounds), we couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean.”  With 3 minutes to go in the first half, the Tigers trailed 28-21, but after a pair of Manthe free throws, Tommy McGonagle hit a 3 point shot, followed by back to back possessions where B.J. Likins hit a pair of 3 point shots of his own, and the Tigers finished the half on an 11-0 run to secure a 32-28 halftime lead.

The second half was similar to the first half, and as this game, which had 5 ties and 4 lead changes, concluded the Tigers once again went on another run.  Clinging to a 3 point lead 60-57 with 6 minutes to go, The Tigers tightened down the D even more and finished the game on a 14-3 run winning 74-60 to secure their 3rd ACCA National Championship in 4 years.

Final Score: Champion 74 Shepherd 60
Box Score

The Tigers not only won the National Championship, they also secured the following awards for their individual players:
ACCA Player of the Year: James Manthe
1st Team All-American: B.J. Likins
Academic All-Americans: James Manthe, Damon Grego, Travis Hendershot
All-Tournament Team: B.J. Likins
Tournament MVP: James Manthe

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