Beaver Loses USCAA DII Championship to Williamson Trade

Beaver Loses USCAA DII Championship to Williamson Trade
March 7, 2009

On Saturday, March 7, #1 seed Williamson Trade School (Media, PA) defeated Penn State Beaver's #2 seed Nittany Lions basketball team, 59-50 in the 2009 DII USCAA National Title game.

Beaver struggled to find their rhythm against the Williamson defense. Beaver sophomore Justin Harmon (Solebury Academy, Trenton, NJ) made the first Beaver field goal near the 10-minute mark of the first half with an incredible shot that energized Beaver and brought them back into the game, 12-5.

Williamson extended its lead by as many as 12 points and led 27-17 at the half on 13-26 shooting. Both teams struggled from the free throw line as Beaver shot 50% (5-10) while Williamson could only muster a 30% effort (6-20) from the charity stripe. 

With Williamson's tempo controlled offense, mounting a comeback for the Nittany Lions was a daunting task as the score remained just 29-19 in favor of Williamson with 16:45 left in the game. Williamson continued to play at its deliberate pace and maintained a comfortable 10-point lead at the seven-minute mark, 47-37. 

Despite its offensive moves throughout the game, Beaver chipped into the lead, cutting the margin to 9 points with just over six minutes remaining. Beaver then went on a 7-0 run, with a four-point play by junior Tim Kubis (Hopewell High School, Aliquippa, PA) and a clutch three-point shot by freshman Anthony McPhearson (Center High School, Aliquippa, PA) to pull Beaver within 2 points. 

Beaver then made an important stop and got the ball back on their offensive end of the floor, sideline-out-of-bounds. However, Beaver made a critical turnover inbounding the ball that resulted in two free throws for Williamson to extend their lead to 51-47 with 3:40 remaining.

With both teams stepping up defensively, the score remained close at 53-48 with 38 seconds to go. However, junior Zac Fetchin (Hopewell High School, Aliquippa, PA) missed two free throws and Beaver ran out of time as Williamson converted some late free throws and clinched the USCAA DII Championship.

Fetchin led the Lions with 15 points and sophomore David McGarry (Poland Seminary High School, Poland, OH) had 11 points. 

Despite the loss, Beaver finished a tremendous season at 24-7 with a PSUAC Championship Title to their name. Fetchin, who was named Honorable Mention All-American earlier in the week, was also named to the USCAA All-Tournament Team.