Last week, the Southwest Minnesota State wheelchair basketball team went to Champaign, Ill. to play in the annual National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, taking sixth place in the season-ending tournament.
The Mustangs fell to Alabama 69-32 in their first game before pulling off a 63-27 victory over Edinboro (Pa.) in the second game. SMSU closed out the tournament with a 71-36 loss to Missouri.
"They did what was asked of them, and even a bit more," said Mustangs head wheelchair basketball coach Lew Shaver.
Three SMSU players earned postseason honors, with Jake Williams (second team All-America), Raymone Brown (All-Freshman team) and Kyle Timmerman (Sportsmanship Award) all winning awards.
Timmerman finished the tournament averaging 7.3 points and 5.0 assists per game, and had a triple-double in the Mustangs' win over Edinboro (12 points, 12 rebounds, 10 steals).
"He has emerged as a leader, if not the leader of the team," Shaver said of Timmerman, a Minneota native who has one year of eligibility remaining.
Undermanned in the tournament, Shaver said SMSU got some added help from its bench players like Derek Klinkner, who averaged 8.3 points per game in the tournament.
"Derek Klinkner's become quite a natural leader," Shaver said. "He brings that football mentality and he brings that athletic mentality."
Brown was SMSU's leading scorer in two of the three games, scoring 11 in the loss to Alabama and 14 in the loss to Missouri.
"We made the analogy that when an NFL team drafts a quarterback out of college, it takes two or three years to have the game slowed down, when they know everybody is quick and exceptionally skilled," Shaver said. "We're finding that with our freshman, and that really began to happen with Raymone this weekend."
With the sixth-place finish, SMSU finished the 2011-12 season with an 8-14 record.
Wednesday's Results
Alabama 69, SMSU 32
SMSU (32)
Thomas Bowlin 1 0-0 2, Josh Scanlon 0 1-2 1, Jake Tews 1 0-0 3, David Nelson 0 0-0 0, Raymone Brown 5 0-2 11, Derek Klinkner 4 0-1 9, Kyle Timmerman 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 1-5 32. Three-Pointers 3-7 Rebounds 23 (Timmerman 7) Assists 3 (Timmerman 2) Steals 3 Blocks 0 Turnovers 26 Total Fouls 8.
Alabama (69)
Halftime Score: Alabama 34, SMSU 12.
Friday's Results
SMSU 63, Edinboro 27
Edinboro (27)
SMSU (63)
Thomas Bowlin 0 2-2 2, Josh Scanlon 6 1-1 13, Jake Tews 2 0-0 5, David Nelson 3 0-0 6, Raymone Brown 4 0-0 8, Derek Klinkner 5 0-4 10, Kyle Timmerman 7 5-11 12. Totals 27 8-18 63. Three-Pointers 1-1 (Tews 1-1) Rebounds 36 (Timmerman 12) Assists 18 (Timmerman 6) Steals 21 (Timmerman 10) Blocks 1 (Timmerman) Turnovers 4 Total Fouls 12.
Halftime Score: SMSU 30, Edinboro 13.
Missouri 71, SMSU 36
SMSU (36)
Thomas Bowlin 1 0-0 2, Josh Scanlon 3 0-0 6, Jake Tews 0 0-0 0, David Nelson 2 0-2 4, Raymone Brown 7 0-0 14, Derek Klinkner 3 0-0 6, Kyle Timmerman 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 0-2 36. Three-Pointers 0 Rebounds 20 (Timmerman 9, Brown 6) Assists 12 (Timmerman 7) Steals 5 (Brown 2) Blocks 1 (Timmerman) Turnovers 16 Total Fouls 7.
Missouri (71)
Halftime Score: Missouri 41, SMSU 10.