Men's Basketball | 3/24/2011 11:40:00 PM

BOX SCORE

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A “Jet” from the Far East shot No. 1-ranked West Liberty's spectacular season down in flames Thursday night.

BYU-Hawaii junior guard Jet Chang scored a career-high 43 points to lead the unranked Seasiders to a 110-101 upset of the previously-unbeaten Hilltoppers in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight championship tournament at the MassMutual Center.

The 6-4 Chang – a member of the Chinese Taipei National Team – poured in 26 of his points during the first half as BYU-Hawaii (22-8) built a 58-47 halftime lead and hit several clutch shots down the stretch to snap West Liberty's season-long 33-game winning streak and end the Hilltoppers' remarkable run one game short of an NCAA Division II title.

Battling foul trouble throughout and trailing by as many as 15 points in the latter stages of the opening half, Coach Jim Crutchfield's Atlantic Region champions didn't go down without a fight.

Senior guard Corey Pelle sparked a second-half comeback by scoring or assisting on West Liberty's first 7 field goals of the second half as the Hilltoppers hit four 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the half to cut the lead to 67-65, forcing a Seasider timeout with 16:02 remaining.

After exchanging baskets for the next few minutes, West Liberty took its first lead of the second half, 73-72, when Alex Falk fed a cutting Chris Morrow for a layup with 12:43 on the clock.

The elation of the Hilltopper fans proved short-lived, however, as Marques Whippy muscled his way to the basket at the other end to put BYU-Hawaii back on top, 74-73, at 12:34.
The Seasiders never trailed again but the drama was far from over.

Chang appeared to provide BYU-Hawaii with a comfortable margin when he drained back-to-back shots to give the underdogs a 97-89 lead as the clock ticked under the 4-minute mark only to see Pelle step back into the spotlight.

The Hilltopper playmaker got the ball rolling with a pair of free throws before a pair of his trademark drive-and-kick assists resulted in consecutive 3-pointers from fellow seniors Barry Shetzer and Jordan Fortney.

After Fortney's long-range shot knotted the score at 97-97 with 2:35 to go, West Liberty had a chance to take the lead when Falk came up with a steal and fired a pass downcourt to a streaking Pelle.
BYU-Hawaii's Heath Gameren scrambled back on defense just in time to force a miss. The Seasiders grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Whippy for a go-ahead layup at the 2:02 mark.

Following another Hilltopper miss, the speedy Chang pushed the lead to 101-97 on a drive to the hoop and the Seasiders closed out the win by going 9-for-10 from the foul line the rest of the way.

Pelle led West Liberty with 32 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute. Shetzer added 23 points while John Wolosinczuk had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Falk chipped in with 15 points and 8 boards while Morrow donated 11 points off the bench.

Chang's 43 points led five double-figure scorers for BYU-Hawaii. Jake Dastrup had 18 points while Whippy finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The Seasiders will take on No. 2 Bellarmine, Ky. at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. It will be the first NCAA Division II championship game appearance for either team.

No. 2 Bellarmine 81
No. 8 Minnesota State 74
The Knights (32-2) held the Mavericks (28-5) without a field goal over the final 4:30 to take control of a see-saw affair. Braydon Hobbs rattled home a 3-point shot with 4:05 remaining which put Bellarmine ahead to stay, 69-66. Chris Dowe capped the clinching 11-2 run with a free throw at the 38-second mark, giving the Knights the largest lead of the game for either team at 77-68. Dowe finished with 21 points to lead Bellarmine, which got all of its points from five double-figure scorers. Jeremy Kendle and Justin
Benedetti added 18 and 13 points, respectively, while Hobbs and Luke Sprague chipped in with 13 each. Minnesota State got 24 points and 14 rebounds from Jefferson Mason while Cameron Hodges matched those 24 points with a 5-for-5 showing from beyond the 3-point arc in a losing cause