On their recent trip to the State Capital, the Northeastern State University
NCAA Division II Champion Redmen basketball team had the opportunity to
meet with Senator Herb Rozell and fellow legislators whom were also Northeastern
alumni.
The NSU men’s basketball team rode hot shooting and a suffocating defense to their first NCAA Division II national championship. With the victory, the Redmen finished the season with a 32-3 record, setting a school record for most wins in a season.
In their first appearance in a national title game, NSU’s Redmen claimed the title by beating Kentucky Wesleyan College, a team that had been to six straight championship contests, 75 - 64. The victory, televised live to a national audience on CBS, was Northeastern’s first national championship in 67 years of basketball competition.
In addition to the Championship, head coach Larry Gipson, in his sixth season at NSU, also claimed the Lone Star Conference, South Central Region, and National Coach of the Year awards.
At the conclusion of the tournament, guards Derek Cline and Shon Robinson were named to the all-tournament team, and guard Darnell Hinson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Also, during the national tournament, Jon Shepard, a senior from Tulsa Union High School, was named to the NABC All-America team and become the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,453 points.
The Redmen, ranked seventh in the country heading into the tournament, advanced to the Division II Elight Eight in Lakeland, Florida, by winning the South Central Regional.
Story contact: Jennifer
Zehnder, Media Relations Coordinator