Sunrise Conference Champions!

Hammond & Pursell with the SC Championship

Windham, Maine- The Fisher College Men’s Basketball are Champions once again. The #1 seeded Falcons (15-14) were able to edge the #2 seed, Maine-Fort Kent, 69-68 in the 2011 Sunrise Conference Championship Game in front of about 120 people at Windham High School in Windham, Maine.

It was the fifth time in the ten year history of the Sunrise Conference that these two schools have matched up against each other in the Conference Tournament finals. With the win, Fisher improves to 4-1 against Fort Kent (14-11) in the Tournament finals. The Falcons have earned an automatic berth in the NAIA national tournament which will be held March 9-15 in Point Lookout, Missouri. This is Fisher's second championship in the past three years and fifth title overall.

“It feels real good,” exclaimed senior Louis Williams (Burlington, VT) when asked about his second Sunrise Conference title in three years. “I feel like we had to go out on top and my teammates helped us out and we got our Championship.”

Sunday's title game was played before a boisterous crowd and both teams didn't disappoint those in attendance as the action went back and forth throughout the day.In the end it was a pair of free throws by senior Casey Pursell (Seattle, WA) that that carried Fisher to the win.

Brown with the SC Champioship Plaque

Fort Kent started the game on a 7-2 run before Fisher settled into their offensive and tied the game at 9-9 with 15:05 on the clock.  Fort Kent countered with a 14-5 run that stretched their lead to 23-14 just six minutes later.  The Bengals eventually led 36-34 at halftime.

In the second half the Bengals pushed the lead into double digits on two separate occasions before the Falcons made their final spurt down the stretch to surge ahead.  With 6:34 left to play an innocent field goal by senior Oscar Brown (Buffalo, NY) set the stage for a 12-0 run. Fisher would take its first lead of the half with 2:30 left (65-64) when Brown made a lay-up off of a fantastic pass from Pursell. A made field goal by UMFK’s Manny Odugbela and a timeout by Fisher College Head Coach Dave Lindberg set the stage for one of the best finishes in Sunrise Conference Tournament history.

Trailing 68-67 with less than 20 seconds left, an initial shot by senior Christiaan Hammond (Seattle, WA) missed the mark but it was Pursell who made an athletic play to grab the offensive rebound. He was fouled on the put back and sent to the line for two shots.  The senior calmly sank both attempts. With no timeouts, Maine-Fort Kent’s last second shot was off the mark and Brown was able to collect the rebound to give Fisher the one point win.

“I already knew I was going to make the free throws.” Said Pursell following the game. “Even though I had a tough night (1-for-6 from the floor, including 0-4 from behind the arc) we just came too far to not finish the deal.”

Hammond scored a game-high 24 points and made four steals to lead Fisher. Brown added 17 points and nine rebounds while junior Dennis Norford (New Haven, CT) contributed 14 points and five rebounds.

Williams cuts down the net following the win

This also marks the end of the Sunrise Conference Tournament. The Conference will be disbanding following the completion of the 2011 spring season. In the short ten year history of the Tournament, Fisher College has won a record five times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011). Maine-Fort Kent beat Fisher in the finals last year, 81-63 for their only Championship.

“It was a sweet feeling, real emotional.” Said Williams about beating Maine-Fort Kent. “After the run we made last year (20 game win streak) without finishing on top, I feel like we deserved it. We were blessed to be in the position we were in and we never gave up on each other.”

Next up is the NAIA Division II National Tournament which is held at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. In their previous four National Championship Tournament appearances, Fisher has a 0-4 record. The last loss came in 2009 against the then #1 Oklahoma Wesleyan, 115-74.

“We are the underdogs” said Pursell. “We are going to go to practice this next week and a half; we are going to work hard and go with the mindset that as long as we believe in ourselves, we can do anything.”