Palms Division Results
Huefner, Powers Lead Sam Houston to Palms Division Title
Donte Powers and Cameron Huefner combined for 42 points as Sam Houston rolled to the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division title, defeating South Dakota, 80-49, on Wednesday afternoon.
Powers was named tournament MVP following the contest. The Bearkats standout guard averaged 16.5 points and shot a combined 65 percent (11-of-17) from the field and 60 percent from 3-pointn range (6-of-10) in the team’s two victories.
Huefner had 22 points and went a perfect 4-for-4 from long range for Sam Houston, who shot 56 percent overall with 11 3-pointers. The Bearkats won their two Palms division games by a combined margin of 65 points.
Paul Bruns led South Dakota with 12 points while Mason Archambault chipped in nine.
Trailing 9-6 early Huefner and Kian Scroggins combined for 11 straight points, allowing Sam Houston to take a 17-9 lead halfway through the opening frame. After leading 33-19 at halftime, the Bearkats picked up right where they left off, opening the second half on an 18-7 run over first seven minutes to push their lead to 51-26.
Following today’s action, the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off announced its 2022 Palms Division All-Tournament Team:
Donte Powers, Sam Houston (MVP)
Cameron Huefner, Sam Houston
R.J. Greene, LIU
Keshawn Williams, Northern Illinois
Mason Archambault, South Dakota
NIU Cruises Past LIU in Palms Division Third-Place Game
Keshawn Williams dropped 28 points as Northern Illinois clinched third place in the Palms Division of the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off in dominating fashion, winning 86-61 over Long Island University on Wednesday afternoon.
Williams was all over the stat sheet, registering four rebounds and four assists and making four 3-pointers. David Coit scored 17, Zarique Nutter scored 10, and Oluwasegun Durosinmi hauled in 11 rebounds alongside seven points for NIU.
The Huskies jumped out to a 13-3 lead over the game’s first seven minutes and never looked back. NIU shot 59 percent from the field and made eight 3-pointers in the opening period, taking a 50-27 lead into halftime.
Four players contributed double-digit points for LIU, led by R.J. Greene’s 14. Marko Maletic and Quion Burns had 12 points apiece and Jacob Johnson added 11.
Northern Illinois continues its season on Saturday at Northern Iowa, and LIU travels to St. John’s for a road matchup on Tuesday.
Northern Illinois Recap | Box Score
Late Run Leads South Dakota Over LIU
A late second-half surge powered South Dakota over Long Island University, 68-58, in Palms Division action at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off on Tuesday afternoon.
Mason Archambault scored 19 points and Damani Hayes was a force on the glass with 14 rebounds for the Coyotes, who advance to the Palms Division championship game against Sam Houston on Wednesday.
LIU’s Marko Maletic matched Archambault’s effort with 19 points of his own, while RJ Greene recorded 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in the contest.
A tightly contested second half had LIU holding a 51-48 lead with 4:46 remaining before a game-changing 3-pointer by South Dakota’s AJ Plitzuweit gave the Coyotes the lead, 53-51. That ignited a 14-0 run to build a 62-51 Coyotes advantage with 1:38 remaining.
South Dakota scored the first eight points of the game, but LIU answered with an 10-2 run to tie the game at 10 halfway through the opening frame. From there it was neck-and-neck throughout the half, with neither team leading by more than seven and LIU leading 31-28 at the break. Maletic had 11 points in the half for the Sharks.
Long Island will face Northern Illinois in the Palms Division third-place game Wednesday afternoon, with tipoff set for 11:00 am ET. South Dakota’s matchup against Sam Houston State will start at 1:30 pm. Both games will be streamed live on FSWBucs.com.
South Dakota Recap | Box Score
Sam Houston Cruises Past Northern Illinois
Qua Grant scored 19 points as Sam Houston’s high-octane offense dominated Northern Illinois, 88-54, in Palms Division action at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bearkats’ offense was firing on all cylinders as they shot 52 percent from the field, including 12 3-pointers. Lamar Wilkerson poured in 15 points and Donte Powers added 13 for Sam Houston State, who led for nearly 37 minutes of game action. In total, 11 different Bearkats registered points in the contest.
Zarique Nutter led Northern Illinois with 11 points, while Zion Russell and David Coit registered 10 points apiece.
The Bearkats got off to a blistering start, opening the game on a 19-6 run over the first nine minutes and leading 41-22 at the break. They shot 50 percent, including 7-of-12 from three, and forced 15 turnovers in the first half. Sam Houston showed no signs of fatigue as it went on to record 47 points in the second half.
Sam Houston will face the winner of South Dakota and Long Island University in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division championship game at 1:30 pm ET on Wednesday. Northern Illinois will play in the Palms Division third-place game at 11:00 am on Wednesday. Both games will be streamed live at FSW.com/FSWBucsLive.