Jimmies' magical postseason run comes to a close

Mason Walters and the University of Jamestown men's basketball team looked pretty darn good in the national spotlight for a week.

The 6-foot-9 Great Plains Athletic Conference Player of the Year has vowed to return.

"It's only going to benefit us in the long run," Walters said. "We've had a lot of big games this year and I think when they do come (next year) we'll be ready for them."

The Jimmies' magical postseason run came to a close on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.

A 31-point night out of Shawnee State University's James Jones was too much for UJ to handle while facing the nation's leading shot-blocker -- 6-foot-11 EJ Onu -- in the quarterfinals of the NAIA men's basketball national tournament at Municipal Auditorium. Onu only scored five points but disrupted the orange and black with 12 rebounds and nine blocks in a 76-65 victory for the streaking Bears out of Ohio.

Shawnee State won a 25th consecutive game, improving their overall record to 29-2.

"Their athleticism was just a tough, tough matchup for us," said UJ men's basketball coach Danny Neville. "But I'm proud of our guys. We hung in there and we played hard. We'd have liked to have had more shots fall but that's just how it goes."

Jamestown kept pace through the first eight minutes of the second half after leading 33-32 at the break behind the help of Thursday's sophomore stars. Walters reached 1,000 career points after nearly six minutes and a Marc Kjos 3-pointer had UJ still out front by a point, 48-47, with 12 minutes remaining.

Walters led the Jimmies Saturday with 20 points and with two seasons remaining already has 1,007 for his career.

But a 9-1 run by the Bears, capped by a steal and score from 6-6 wing Amier Gilmore, flipped the advantage to Shawnee State at 56-49 with 9:53 to play. The turnover was UJ's 12th to that point, and the player of the game -- Jones -- hit the backbreaker two minutes later.

The former Williston State College player from Chicago drained a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 59-51 before the Bears extended the gap to as many as 15 down the stretch.

Jones played 31 games as a forward at Williston in 2018-19 and has averaged nearly 20 points per night for both the junior college Tetons and the Bears.

"It kinda stings," Walters said. "Obviously you look back and wish you could get a couple of possessions back here or there, but we fought to the end and never gave up. Just a couple of things different and I feel like we could've won this game."

Along with Onu at 6-11, Gilmore at 6-6 and Jones at 6-4, the Bears also start 6-7 guard Issac Abergut, with 6-8 monsters Latavious Mitchella and Donoven Carlisle and 6-6 Miles Thomas coming off the bench.

"They're just so long and athletic that their closeouts just really bothered our shooters," Neville said. "We feel we have really good shooters, but today was just one of those days where they didn't fall."

The Jimmies converted just 5 of 23 from 3-point range and 25 of 61 total from the field. UJ's Brock Schrom and Kjos added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kjos converted 2 of 6 from downtown after erupting for eight 3-pointers in Thursday's round of 16 win over Faulkner University.

Onu got loose for a triple-double of 29 points, 10 blocks and 10 rebounds in the Bears' 69-59 over Bethel, Kansas, on Thursday.

"He has five points but he just helps them so much on the other end with contesting and blocking shots," Neville said. "We haven't seen anything like him on the defensive end."

The Jimmies hit the floor hot, scoring the game's first seven points and leading 12-3 after four minutes behind 5-for-6 shooting and 3-pointers from both Marc Kjos and Jack Talley.

UJ eventually extended the advantage to 10 at 14-4, but the Bears would rattle off the next eight straight and an eventual 11-2 run knifed the Jimmies' advantage to just 17-15 with 10 minutes remaining in the half.

Jamestown would hang on to a 33-32 lead at the break, even as Walters sat the final eight minutes with two fouls. Jones gave the Bears their first lead at 22-21 with a bucket at 6:32, but a 3-pointer and five straight points from UJ redshirt freshman Cole Woodford put Jamestown back out front with Walters on the bench.

"It was tough, but our guys stepped up and I thought Mason had a good second half," Neville said. "The last four games our guys have just been so tough. I can't tell you how proud of them I am."

The Jimmies won last weekend's NAIA opening-round bracket in Omaha, Nebraska, turning away former North Star Athletic Association rival Bellevue University before toppling former NAIA Division I program's Louisiana State University Shreveport and Faulkner to reach the quarterfinals for the second time in UJ history.

LSU-Shreveport was ranked No. 3 in the final poll, while Faulkner was ranked seventh and Shawnee State sixth.

The game was the final one for seniors Schrom, Brady Birch, Talley and Tanner Slag. Schrom, Birch and Talley -- a first-team all-conference selection in 2020 -- were an integral part of UJ's D-II round of 16 run and GPAC tournament championship in 2019.

Talley finished his UJ career with 1,101 points, good for 27th all-time for the Jimmies.

"They're kind of the originals," Neville said of his seniors. "Sweet 16, Elite Eight two times out of their four years is pretty cool for them. It's gonna be tough losing them."

They were the players who enriched the likes of sophomores Walter, Kjos, junior Devan Praska, and freshman Woodford and Will Cordes this season on the court.

"I'm thankful to the seniors, all four of them for what they've done," Walters said. "Not only for myself but this team. They gave a lot in letting us younger guys kinda step into our roles and it looks hopeful. I'm thankful for what the seniors have done and (already) getting ready to go for next year."

NAIA Mens' Basketball Championship

At Kansas City, Missouri

Shawnee State (Ohio) 76, University of Jamestown 65

UJ 33 32 -- 65

SS 32 44 -- 76

UJ -- Mason Walters 20, Brock Schrom 11, Marc Kjos 10, Cole Woodford 8, Jack Talley 8, Brady Birch 6, Will Cordes 2. Totals: 25-61 FG, 5-23 3-pointers (Kjos 2, Talley 2, Woodford 1), 10-12 FT, 34 Rebounds (Birch 6, Walters 6, Schrom 6), 13 Assists (Kjos 3, Cordes 3, Birch 3), 16 Fouls (Birch), 3 Steals (Walters, Kjos, Cordes), 13 Turnovers, 2 Blocks (Schrom 2).

SS -- James Jones 31, Miles Thomas 10, Donovan Carlisle 8, Latavious Mitchell 6, Issa Abergut 5, EJ Onu 5, Jakiel Wells 4, Amier Gilmore 4, Kobie Johnson 3. Totals: 28-66 FG, 4-21 3-pointers (Johnson, Jones, Abergut, Thomas), 16-21 FT, 41 Rebounds (Onu 12), 4 Assists (Gilmore 2), 15 Fouls, 9 Steals (Gilmore 4), 11 Turnovers, 10 Blocks (9).

Records: Shawnee State 29-2. Jamestown 22-9.

(Tournament seeded/records in parentheses)

ROUND OF 16

MARCH 18

NAISMITH BRACKET

G1: (16) Bethel, Ind. 83, (1) Indiana Wesleyan 77

G2: (9) Saint Francis, Ind. 67, (8) Stillman, Ala. 67

CRAMER BRACKET

G3: (5) Shawnee State, Ohio 69, (12) Bethel, Kan. 59

G4: (13) Jamestown 88, (4) Faulkner, Ala. 83

MARCH 19

DUER BRACKET

G5: (14) Lewis-Clark State 86, (3) Oklahoma Wesleyan 72

G6: (11) Loyola, La. 69, (6) Marian, Ind. 62

LISTON BRACKET

G7: (7) SAGU, Texas 90, (10) Morningside, Iowa 80

G8: (15) Carroll, Mont. 85, (2) William Penn, Iowa 62

QUARTERFINALS

MARCH 20

NAISMITH BRACKET

G9: Saint Francis, Ind. 89, Bethel, Ind. 81

CRAMER BRACKET

G10: Shawnee State 76, Jamestown 65

DUER BRACKET

G11: Lewis-Clark State, Idaho 75, (3) Loyola, La. 70.

LISTON BRACKET

G12: SAGU, Texas 73, Carroll, Mont. 65

SEMIFINALS

MARCH 22

G13: Saint Francis, Ind. (27-8) vs. Shawnee State (29-2), 6 p.m.

G14: SAGU, Texas (13-2) vs. Lewis-Clark State, Idaho (21-1), 8 p.m.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

MARCH 23

G15: Winner G13 vs. Winner G14, 7 p.m.