ANDERSON, Ind. —
It’s hard to believe it’s been 19 years since former Highland star Linc Darner and his Purdue teammates lost against Duke in Knoxville, Tenn., with a trip to the NCAA tournament’s Final Four on the line.
Darner is dreaming of a trip to Final Four weekend again this year in Atlanta. But the circumstances are entirely different.
For the past seven years, Darner has been the men’s basketball head coach at Div. II Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla. Under his guidance, the Moccasins have won two straight Sunshine State Conference championships and four league titles overall.
A win tonight in the South Regional finals of the NCAA tournament would send the Mocs to the Elite Eight in Louisville. With two more wins there, Florida Southern would head to Atlanta to play for the national championship.
While the Div. I teams will contest the national semifinals April 6 and the national title game April 8 at the Georgia Dome, the Div. II finalists will compete at the NBA Hawks’ Philips Arena for their own national crown on April 7.
“We’ve got a long ways to go to get there,” Darner said Monday during a cellphone interview.
That’s been the Mocs’ goal all season. The team — which features a pair of seniors with Madison County ties in Pendleton Heights’ Jay Hubble and Frankton’s Jon Gardner — is ranked eighth in the country and enters tonight’s game against No. 9 Alabama-Huntsville (25-5) with a 26-5 overall record.
Florida Southern caught fire with a nine-game winning streak from Jan. 12 to Feb. 9 that included seven straight contests in which the team scored at least 90 points. The Mocs cooled off a bit before beginning play in the SSC tournament March 8.
Now, Darner said, the team is peaking again.
“We’ve had an unbelievable season,” he said.
Florida Southern fell behind Rollins — and assistant coach Brad Ash, another former Scot — 20-4 at the start of the conference championship game and overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to win 72-66 and earn the right to host an NCAA regional.
The Mocs’ South Regional was the only one in the country in which all eight teams had been ranked at some point in the season. All four semifinalists were teams that held current rankings, another fact that separated this regional from its peers.
Florida Southern opened play with a 94-80 victory against North Alabama on Saturday then celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with an 84-65 demolition of 17th-ranked Saint Leo.
The Lions (22-8, 12-4 SSC) shared the regular season conference title with the Mocs but trailed by as many as 25 points during their postseason battle.
“I was surprised to have that big a lead against a team as good as they are,” Darner said.
The coach is expecting nothing to come easily in tonight’s regional final against Alabama-Huntsville.
The Chargers have appeared in the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons, and all but one player on their roster has been a part of at least one of those postseason runs.
“They’re a very experienced team,” Darner said.
Alabama-Huntsville runs a Princeton-style offense, predicated on shooting 3-pointers and creating lay-ups with backdoor cuts. Darner said the Mocs will need to run the same style of defense they’ve showcased all season to counter.
“We’ve got to get up and pressure them (on the perimeter) and try to wear them down,” he said.
Tonight’s winner will advance to Louisville’s Freedom Hall on March 28 to begin play in the Elite Eight.
Darner’s hoping his family in the area, and fans from Pendleton Heights and Frankton, will be able to make the trip over to Kentucky to support the Mocs.
“It would be nice if we got there,” he said. “It would be great if people in that area could come down and support us.”
Darner is extremely happy at Florida Southern, where he’s garnered a reputation as one of the best Div. II coaches in the nation. But he could draw interest later this spring from schools with Div. I openings.
Darner laughed off the idea of such courtships, however, at least for the time being.
“I’m only worrying about one game,” he said. “That’s Alabama-Huntsville right now.”
College Sports
Related Photos
-
Former Highland star Linc Darner has led Florida Southern to four NCAA Division II tournament appearances in the past six years.
Discussion
Darner dancing in March again
Former Highland, Purdue star enjoys Div. II success
- College Sports
-
-
Stinson sends Ball State to NCAA golf nationals
The Ball State men’s golf team is on its way to the NCAA Nationals for the first time since 1986 after defeating San Diego State in a playoff Saturday for the fifth and final qualifying spot out of the Pullman Regional.
-
Ravens’ World Series run comes to an end
The Anderson University softball team survived five elimination games to win the NCAA regional last week in Angola.
It took the nation’s top-ranked team to finally end the Ravens’ remarkable run.
Salisbury scored a 2-0 victory Saturday in Eau Claire, Wis., knocking AU (31-18) out of the NCAA Div. III Softball Championships in the program’s debut trip to the national finals. -
Ball State moves to 7th at NCAA regional
The Ball State men’s golf team moved up three spots on the leaderboard Friday with the third-best second round at the NCAA Pullman Regional.
The Cardinals posted a team score of 4-under-par 284, led by former Liberty Christian star Alex Stinson’s 69 at the par-72 Palouse Ridge Golf Club. With one round to play, they have positioned themselves for a run at one of the top-five spots and a trip to the NCAA Nationals. -
Ravens ready to rumble with nation’s best
Everything about this wild and wonderful weekend will be brand new for the Anderson University softball team.
So why should the opposition be any different? -
Clouser’s 68 paces Ball State in NCAA regional opener
Former Liberty Christian star Alex Stinson righted his round with a birdie on the 16th hole and an eagle on the 17th and fought for a 74.
-
Stinson, Cardinals step onto national stage
For the first time in 22 years, the Ball State men’s golf team will be making an appearance in the NCAA Regional, and Liberty Christian product Alex Stinson is one of big reasons.
Stinson, a senior, will be playing in the No. 2 slot for the Cardinals when they play Thursday in the regional at Pullman, Wash. BSU is seeded 10th among the 14 teams. -
AU softball's flying high
In early April, the Anderson University softball team was scuffling along at 1-3 in league play and thinking positive thoughts about remaining in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title race.
On Friday, the Ravens (31-16) will be one of just eight teams still alive in the NCAA Div. III national championship race. -
George Bremer: Ravens’ win could take awhile to sink in
As the Anderson University softball team’s bus neared campus late Monday afternoon on its return trip from Angola, NCAA Div. III regional MVP Yardley Collett was checking her Twitter account.
There were messages of congratulations from Ravens baseball players and some of the softball team’s fans. And there were also heartfelt greetings from players and coaches around the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. -
Ravens on verge of World Series berth
The Anderson University softball team defeated Aurora University 4-3 and then knocked off Allegheny 16-4 in the first championship game of the NCAA Div. III Regional on Sunday in Angola.
The two victories forced a second championship game Monday at 10 a.m. The winner will advance to the NCAA Div. III World Series this weekend in Eau Claire, Wis. -
AU softball wins pair to remain alive
For the second time in three days, the Anderson University softball team knocked off top-seeded and No. 2 ranked Trine University 10-6 in the NCAA Div. III Regional on Saturday.
The eighth seeded Ravens also defeated the hosts 5-1 in the first game of the tournament on Thursday. - More College Sports Headlines
-
