Tournament on the Rise

RALEIGH, Thursday night, The Bears men's basketball team finished the regular season against the Falcons of Saint Augustine's College at Emery Gymnasium, and now looks forward to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Tournament.

January 21, in their first meeting, the Bears were forced into overtime and stole a 71-62 victory. In what was a very intense game, in a packed gymnasium the Bears won over the Falcons 64-62. The CIAA Player of the Year, Malik Alvin, finished with 16 points, as senior, guard Antonio Smith had 17 points and 6 assists and 6 rebounds.

After the game, Smith was happy about the win. "We just wanted to be a part of history," said Smith.

Currently ranked 6^th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II (NABC) poll, the team finished the season sweeping the conference with a 16-0 record, 24-2 overall.

The CIAA tournament starts on Tuesday at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.  This gives the team a few days' rest. Coach Hill feels that the rest will help their game as it will give them time to improve offensively and defensively.

Smith feels that the preparation will not change at this point. "We really have to pay attention to detail, it becomes very important now," said Smith

The Bears play again on Thursday night, March 1^st, in Charlotte. Go Bears!