National champions! Warren Wilson College basketball team wins big

The Warren Wilson College men’s basketball team beat Penn State Fayette on Saturday night to win the USCAA Div. 2 national championship. It was a hard-fought battle, with the Owls of Warren Wilson starting slow and overcoming some foul trouble to seal the victory. Raysean Love of Warren Wilson was named the tournament MVP.

A great win for the little Swannanoa Valley college!

From the Warren Wilson College website:

Uniontown, PA – In front of a capacity crowd, ninth-seeded Warren Wilson College won its first USCAA National Championship defeating host Penn State Fayette 76-68 on Saturday night. The victory is the 12th straight for the Owls and caps off four wins in four days to secure the championship.

Fayette made five of its first seven three-point attempts to take a 31-23 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. The Owls answered with a 10-5 run to pull within three at the break.

After two Fayette free throws to open the second half, Warren Wilson went on a 12-0 run capped off by one of Raysean Love’s game-high four three-point field goals. The Owls pushed the lead to 10 after another Love three-pointer with 14 minutes to play.

Fayette charged back with a 15-5 run to even the score with just seven minutes remaining. The game was still tied at the five minute mark when the Owls scored on a three from Love, a jumper from Dan Jackson, and two free throws from Patrick Albright to pull ahead by seven with two minutes to play. Warren Wilson finished the game by making ten consecutive free throws to seal the win.

Love led the Owls with 22 points. Anthony Barringer added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists while Rashad Ali scored 14 with six rebounds. Warren Wilson finished the game with a 48-22 rebounding advantage and limited Fayette to just 33% shooting in the second half.

For his performance all week, Love was namd the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Barringer and Rashad Ali were named to the All-Tournament team while Dylan Johnson and Ty Johnson were named Academic All-Americans.