The 2015 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game was won by Cornerstone University of Grand Rapids, Michigan over Dakota Wesleyan University of Mitchell, South Dakota by a score of 66 to 45.
Tournament field The 2015 tournament field was announced on March 14 in a live selection show. The field is made up of 23 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large bids and one automatic host bid presented to College of the Ozarks. This tournament field welcomed the return of four out of the last five champions, led by defending champion and top seed Indiana Wesleyan University along with Cardinal Stritch, Cornerstone, and Saint Francis. There were four newcomers to the bracket, Brescia, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene and St. Francis of Illinois.
The complete field consists of Ashford, Bellevue, Bethel, Brescia, Briar Cliff, Cal Maritime, Cardinal Stritch, Concordia, Cornerstone, Dakota State, Davenport, Embry-Riddle, Friends, Grace, College of Idaho, Indiana University East, Indiana Wesleyan, Midland, Milligan, Morningside, Mount Mercy, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene, College of the Ozarks, Saint Francis, Saint Thomas, Southern Oregon, Tabor, Union, and Warner Pacific.
Highlights
Fab Four The fifth ranked Dakota Wesleyan Tigers came back from a twelve-point deficit to defeat the College of Idaho Yotes 88-80 and advance to the NAIA championship game. On the other side of the bracket, Davenport hit three free throws in the final six seconds to secure a 79–75 win over defending champion Indiana Wesleyan.
Championship game
Cornerstone won their third national championship, defeating Dakota Wesleyan 66–45 behind a twenty-four point performance by Ben Lanning.
Tourney awards and honors Dr. James Naismith/Emil Liston Team Sportsmanship Award: Southern Oregon
Individual recognition Most Outstanding Player: Dominez Burnett, Davenport Championship Hustle Award: Luke Bamberg, Dakota Wesleyan NABC/NAIA Division II Coach of the Year: Kim Elders, Cornerstone Rawlings-NAIA Division II National Coach of the Year: Matt Wilber, Dakota Wesleyan 2015 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball All-Championship Team Name School Dominez Burnett* Davenport Bishop Robinson Davenport Trae Bergh Dakota Wesleyan Jalen Voss Dakota Wesleyan Kris Menning Dakota Wesleyan Ben Lanning CornerstoneTravis Wells Cornerstone DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle Cesar Pastrana Embry-Riddle Dalton Barnes Embry-Riddle
Statistical leaders (minimum 4 games) Category Player School TallyMost points Jalen Voss Dakota Wesleyan 106Most points per game Dominez Burnett Davenport 21.25Leading rebounder Ben Lanning Cornerstone 59Leading rebounder per game Ben Lanning Cornerstone 11.8Most assists DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 45Assists per game DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 11.25Assist/Turnover ratio Martin Tate Dakota Wesleyan 5.33Three-pointers made Trae Bergh Dakota Wesleyan 16Best overall field goal percentage Cesar Pastrana Embry-Riddle 71.4% (25–35)Best 3-point field goal percentage Dominez Burnett Davenport 77.8% (7–9)Most free throws made Cesar Pastrana (Tie) Embry-Riddle 24Most free throws made Kyle Steigenga (Tie) Cornerstone 24Best free throw percentage Ty Mason Cornerstone 92.9% (13–14)Most steals DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 21Most steals per game DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle 5.25Most shots blocked Ben Lanning Cornerstone 7Most shots blocked per game Ben Lanning Cornerstone 1.4
Bracket
Epilogue
When the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball All-America Teams, almost all the players were represented at the national tournament, with a few notable exceptions including Lawrence Jackson of Northwestern Ohio, Jordan Nelson of Waldorf, Andre Winston of Southeastern.
NAIA Division II Men's Basketball All-America Teams
1st Team Name School Hometown Dominez Burnett* Davenport Flint, Michigan DeForest Carter Embry-Riddle Big Cypress, Florida Grant Greenberg Saint Mary Leavenworth, Kansas Johnny Marlin Indiana Wesleyan Greenwood, Indiana Steve O’Neill Morningside Council Bluffs, Iowa Matt Schauss Bethel Greens Fork, Indiana Tony Smit Cardinal Stritch Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Kyle Steigenga Cornerstone Holland, Michigan Jalen Voss Dakota Wesleyan Worthington, Minnesota Josh Wilson College of Idaho Los Angeles, California - denotes NAIA/NABC Player of the Year
2nd Team Name School Hometown Lawrence Jackson Northwestern, Ohio Rocky Mount, North Carolina Jordan Nelson Waldorf Neenah, Wisconsin Dondre Osborn Mount Mercy Zion, Illinois Demetrius Perkins College of Idaho Compton, California Tobin Reinwald Hastings Lincoln, Nebraska Alex Starkel Midland Norfolk, Nebraska Zach Steinmetz Lourdes Toledo, Ohio Tim Weber Southern Oregon Roseburg, Oregon Andre Winston Southeastern Tacoma, Washington Clay Yeo Bethel Bourbon, Indiana
3rd Team Name School Hometown Brandon Cole Bryan Crossville, Tennessee Brandon Eley AIB Zearing, Iowa Austin Fox Saint Francis (Ind) Muncie, Indiana Ilya Ilyayev Saint Francis (Ill) Los Angeles, California Aaron Larson Olivet Nazarene Tolono, Illinois Alex Starkel Midland Norfolk, Nebraska Ben Lenning Cornerstone Grandville, Michigan Kris Menning Dakota Wesleyan Corsica, South Dakota Austin Morris Brescia Evansville, Indiana Brequan Tucker Jamestown Joliet, Illinois
Honorable Mention Name School Hometown Bryant Allen Dakota State Maplewood, Missouri Trey Bardsley Nebraska Wesleyan Beatrice, Nebraska Cameron Clark Southwestern Lewisville, Texas Derek Daniels College of the Ozarks Mountain View, Missouri Jeremy Comer Presentation Indianapolis, Indiana Nick Frazier St. Ambrose Bellwood, Illinois Warren Hall Warner (Fla.) Tampa, Florida Logan Irwin Grace (Ind.) South Whitley, Indiana Deante Johnson Union College (Kentucky) Cincinnati, Ohio Jack Krieger Saint Xavier (Illinois) Plainfield, Illinois Percy Lemle Bellevue (Nebraska) Carson, California Gabriel Martinez Northern New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Alex Marzette Robert Morris (Ill.) Racine, Wisconsin Fredricus Mattison Northwood (Fla.) Anderson, South Carolina Diamontae McKinley Ashford (Iowa) Milwaukee, Wisconsin Esvan Middleton Concordia (Oregon) Culver City, California Cesar Pastrana Embry-Riddle (Florida) Cartagena, Colombia Nathan Rindels Dordt (Iowa) Boulder, Colorado Alec Schwab William Penn (Iowa) Peru, Illinois Trey Scott Waldorf (Iowa) Fridley, Minnesota Jake Simpson Indiana University Southeast Louisville, Kentucky Dion Smith Marian (Ind.) Indianapolis, Ind. Andrew Thomas Tabor (Kansas) Grenada Eric Thompson Southern Oregon Roseburg, Oregon Jerah’me Williams Point Park (Pa.) Youngstown, Ohio
See also 2015 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2015 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 2015 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 2015 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
References