Box Score
DENVER — Christian Bower couldn't believe it was over.
Not ready to exit the arena Tuesday night, the emotional St. Mary's point guard was carried off the court by teammate Brad Hubenak in the moments after the Rattlers' 78-70 defeat to No. 3 Metro State in the Sweet 16.
Bower, like the rest of his Rattler teammates, wished for one more chance.
"One through 12, I love every one of these guys," said Bower (Jr., Chandler, Ariz.), fighting back tears. "That's why it hurts so bad to lose, especially for these seniors. I really love the seniors."
It was that passion that fueled an unforgettable ride for No. 23 St. Mary's.
In the midst of the program's deepest run as a member of the NCAA, the Rattlers (23-8) finally met their match in the Roadrunners, who won the NCAA Division II South Central Region championship and the right to advance to the Elite Eight.
But St. Mary's wouldn't go down easily.
Trailing by 15 past the midpoint of the second half, the Rattlers cut the deficit to four in the final 90 seconds on a sequence where Moses Sundufu (Sr., Houston) buried a 3-pointer from the corner, stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and then nailed another 3.
"You know Moses, he can get going any time," said Taylor, sensing a potential reenactment of the Heartland Conference Tournament, where Sundufu's last-second 3-pointer capped off a remarkable comeback to force overtime in a win against Newman.
But cutting it to four was as close as the Rattlers would get, as not even Sundufu's penchant for last-second heroics was enough for St. Mary's this time.
Daryell Taylor (Sr., Houston) led all scorers with 25 points for the Rattlers, earning All-Tournament Team honors. St. Mary's Kevin Kotzur (Sr., La Vernia, Texas), the South Central Region Player of the Year, had 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds to join Taylor on the All-Tournament Team at the Auraria Event Center. Demetrius Miller, who scored 19 for the Roadrunners (30-2), was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Sundufu finished with 17, while Bower added a team-high nine assists.
"We needed that earlier," Sundufu said of his late spark. "I was just trying not to lose. I felt like the team needed me earlier though, especially defensively. I didn't show up defensively. It was just too late."
Jonathan Morse, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Player of the Year, picked up his fourth foul with 14:04 remaining, but foul trouble wouldn't hurt Morse or the Roadrunners. Morse finished with 15 points.
Kotzur, the Heartland Conference's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, passed the 2,000-point mark in the game, finishing his career with 2,004 points. Following Tuesday's performance, Kotzur also finished his career with a 66.2-percent shooting percentage (854 of 1290), placing him 13th all-time in the NCAA Division II record book.
The Rattlers had 16 turnovers in the game, which Metro State capitalized on for 26 points off turnovers. The Roadrunners also made the most of their advantage at the line, converting 20 of 24 foul shots.
"They forced us into some uncharacteristic turnovers," said St. Mary's head coach Jim Zeleznak, whose squad cut a 38-28 halftime deficit to two in the opening minutes of the second frame. "We have to credit their defense for that."
The loss ended a six-game winning streak for St. Mary's, which entered this year's tournament 0-6 in the NCAA Tournament until reeling off a pair of wins to advance to the Sweet 16.
"I really liked the way our guys kept on fighting," Zeleznak said. "They kept on battling and gave us a chance there at the end."
St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men's basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men's golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men's golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary's also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary's student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.rattlerathletics.com.
