Friday, March 23, 2012

Western Washington launches into uncharted territory Saturday as the Vikings play in the first national title game in the 110-year history of the program.

The Vikings, ranked No.12 nationally, meet No. 22 Montevallo, Ala., in the NCAA Division II National Championship game. 

The game, which tips off at 10 a.m. PDT, will be televised nationally on CBS.

WWU, which is the first GNAC team to advance to the men's national championship contest in the 11-year history of the conference, enters the championship contest 30-5, having already established a school record for victories in a season.

The Vikings, the West Region champion, defeated Midwestern State, Texas, 64-63, in a quarterfinal game Wednesday, and toppled Stonehill, Mass., 71-66, in the semifinals Thursday.

It is just the second trip to the Elite Eight for the Vikings, who reached the semifinals in 2001.

Montevallo is 29-7. The Falcons, champions of the Southeast Region, reached the championship by defeating Metro State 67-65 in the quarterfinals, then knocking off defending national champion Bellarmine 79-72 Thursday.

The 2012 Elite Eight thus far has seen a series of tightly contested games, with the average margin of victory being just 5.8 points and no game being decided by more than nine.

The close games are nothing new for the Vikings, who are 11-2 in games decided by six points or less, including four of their five national tournament triumphs.

Rory Blanche has been WWU's leading scorer and rebounder on the season, contributing 16.1 points and 7.0 rebounds a game, and he has led the Vikings in scoring in both Elite Eight contests, scoring 15 points against Midwestern State and 16 against Stonehill.

Blanche, who has shot 59.7 percent from the field this season, is 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) in the Elite Eight.

John Allen and Richard Woodworth have also scored in double figures in each of the Elite Eight games.

Allen is averaging 14.6 points on the season, shooting 41.1 percent (74-of-180) on three-pointers and 89.1 percent (90-of-101) on free throws. Woodworth contributes 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

WWU has been outstanding defensively in its tournament run. The Vikings have held opponents under 41.0 percent from the field in each of the last four contests, a feat they accomplished just five times in the first 30 games of the season.

The top threat for Montevallo, which has won 10 straight games and 15 of its last 17, is 6-4 senior guard D.J. Rivera, a consensus All-American who contributes 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals, and had three games of 33 points or more.

Guard Antoine Davis, the Peach Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, contributes 13.9 points and grabs 5.5 rebounds despite being 5-10.

It is the third trip to the Elite Eight for the Falcons, who lost in the quarterfinals in 2006 and 2007.