Eagles Defeat the Panthers by 12 to Claim 2006 Title

The RHEMA Eagles swept the individual skill competitions prior to the start of the USCAA National Tournament, and the winners of those competitions propelled the Eagles through the tournament to the school’s sixth national championship in eight years. In front of a packed house at the Ninowski Recreation Center, the seventh-seeded Eagles defeated the fourth-seeded Philander Smith College Panthers 86-74 to bring home their first USCAA National Championship in school history.

“This is the first time we’ve won the USCAA,” said Eagles Head Coach Perry Shockley. “The last two years we got knocked out in the first round. I’m just happy for the kids. They worked so hard. They went through some tough times. I’m so happy to see them receive the prize we worked for—to finish and get the trophy.”

The day before the tournament, RHEMA’s Jerid Cook won the free-throw contest, making 28 consecutive free throws. Jerid’s older brother Adrian Cook followed suit by winning the three-point shootout, draining 13 three-pointers in 45 seconds. Randy Hill finished the sweep for the Eagles by earning the victory in the slam-dunk competition, bringing down the house on his final attempt with a spinning, one-handed dunk after taking off from behind the backboard.

The three individual victories foreshadowed the tournament, as Jerid Cook shot 89 percent (23-for-26) from the charity stripe, Adrian Cook shot 41 percent (15-for-37) from behind the arc, and Randy Hill had two emphatic dunks in the championship game to help the Eagles soar to victory.

Randy Hill won the opening tip to start the contest and brought the raucous crowd to its feet after slamming home an alley-oop from Jacquari Wills on the Eagles’ opening possession. Over the first 12 minutes of the game, neither team was able to build more than a five-point lead, until Myron Fair put RHEMA up 36-28 after converting from the free-throw line to cap a three-point play.

Brent Schiefelbein gave the Eagles their largest lead of the first half after rolling in a layup to make the score 38-28. However, the Panthers of Philander Smith ended the half on a 15-3 run over the final 5:31 to take a 43-41 halftime lead.

RHEMA opened the second half with a run of its own, outscoring the Panthers 16-4 over the first six minutes of the second half to take a 57-47 lead and forcing Philander Smith to call a timeout. The teams traded buckets over the next 3:30 until Adrian Cook put the Eagles up 63-52 with a lay-in.

On Philander’s next possession, the Eagles took control of the game by keeping their composure and making their free throws. Randy Hill stole the ball and quickly passed upcourt to a wide-open Jacquari Wills. As Wills went in for a layup, he was intentionally fouled. As tension mounted on the court, the Eagles stayed calm, while the Panthers were hit with two technical fouls.

Jerid Cook connected on four consecutive technical-foul free throws, and Jacquari Wills drained his free throws from the intentional foul to give RHEMA a 14-point lead and the ball. On the ensuing possession, Adrian Cook drove the lane and connected on a layup to give the Eagles a 71-55 lead with nine minutes remaining in the game.

The Panthers tried to rally, scoring five unanswered points, but RHEMA put the game out of reach with a 13-4 run, capped off by a vicious one-handed dunk by the 6-foot-7 Randy Hill.

Tournament MVP Adrian Cook ended with a game-high 27 points, pulled down seven rebounds, and had three steals. Myron Fair added 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and five boards. Jerid Cook, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with 17 points, five steals, four rebounds, and four assists, and Randy Hill contributed 13 points, a game-high 17 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists.

“Winning is a result of all the work you put in,” Coach Shockley said. “I told the guys, ‘You’ve put in the work. The win will just be a result of that if you’ll just go out and do all the things you’re supposed to do.’ We just kept battling and fighting. Our intensity and hustle paid the toll on Philander Smith, and they finally began to break under our pressure.

 “Effort-wise, we gave 110 percent,” he added. “The big key was hard work. Persistence, will, and determination will outplay talent and execution many times. We just played so hard that it broke them down.”

For the tournament, Adrian Cook averaged 24.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.7 steals. Jerid Cook averaged 21 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Myron Fair averaged 11.7 points and 4 rebounds. Randy Hill averaged 7.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.7 blocks, and 2.3 assists. Brent Schiefelbein averaged 6.7 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.

On their way to the championship, the Eagles defeated the second-seeded Rochester Warriors 62-59 in the quarterfinals and the third-seeded Arkansas Baptist Buffaloes 88-73 in the semis.