The Herald Bulletin
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — Anderson High School graduate DeJovaun Sawyer-Davis scored a game-high 22 points to lead the St. Francis Cougars to the NAIA Division II men’s basketball championship Tuesday.
The Cougars held off No. 1-seeded Walsh 67-66 in the title game.
Once again St. Francis had to rally from an early deficit. The Cougars trailed 38-32 at intermission but caught up quickly in the second half. The game went back and forth for much of the final 20 minutes.
Sawyer-Davis, called “Dey” by his teammates and fans, hit just 6-of-15 from the field in the game. But he netted 8-of-9 free throws. He also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals and was the only player on either side to log all 40 minutes.
For his efforts he was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
“I couldn’t have won the award without tremendous teammates getting me the ball or getting open so I could get them the ball,” said Sawyer-Davis. “Without my teammates, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this.”
St. Francis (28-9) was seeded No. 15 going into the tournament and became the second-lowest seed to win the tournament. In 2004, No. 16 Oregon Tech won the crown. It was the Cougars’ first time to play for this championship.
“We won a couple of tournaments this year,” said Sawyer-Davis. “But not many people gave us a chance and I think we earned some respect.”
Frankton’s Austin Leisure was scoreless in 20 minutes of action but he had one assist and two steals.
“Ferdie (Ferdinand Morales Soto) and Leisure got the ball to people and pushed the ball,” said St. Francis coach Jeff Rekeweg. “Dey is special, but a lot of other guys helped him.”
This is the second time this season that the Cougars defeated Walsh. The first time was on Dec. 18 when the Cavs were beaten 86-75. Walsh was playing for its second title, winning it all in 2005.
