from the Allied Press
Coming into the 2008-09 season, Coach Raniere told his players that it would be a season to remember. On Saturday morning, that statement came true as the Beavers of Tacoma State defeated the Allentown State Black Diamonds 97-78 to capture their third Division IV basketball championship in school history, the other two coming in 1984 and 2000 respectively. The road to the championship game was anything but easy for the Beavers, however. In just one week, they had to face and defeat #15 Unalaska State, #7 Empire State, #3 New Holland College, #4 Point Loma College, #10 Macon, and finally #2 Allentown State in the finals. Combined, those teams have 4 Division IV basketball championships since the division was created in 1973.
The championship game itself was the earliest scheduled in Division IV history; scheduled at a 10 AM EST tip off due to conflicts with the Division I tournament. Over 200 people packed the Traverse City Middle School Gymnasium for the event, one of the largest crowds in recent tournament history since the championship game drew over 500 people in 1995 when it was held at Madison Square Garden. The Beavers got off to a quick start, leading by 12 points by halftime. They would continue to build upon that lead in the second half. Coach Raniere had this to say about the performance of his kids, "They really gave their 100% this entire tournament. Because of them, we got to host all the preliminary rounds, which really gave us the boost we needed to get this far. I wasn't sure how they'd respond to playing away here in Michigan, but they came out with the desire to win."
Coming into the 2008-09 season, Coach Raniere told his players that it would be a season to remember. On Saturday morning, that statement came true as the Beavers of Tacoma State defeated the Allentown State Black Diamonds 97-78 to capture their third Division IV basketball championship in school history, the other two coming in 1984 and 2000 respectively. The road to the championship game was anything but easy for the Beavers, however. In just one week, they had to face and defeat #15 Unalaska State, #7 Empire State, #3 New Holland College, #4 Point Loma College, #10 Macon, and finally #2 Allentown State in the finals. Combined, those teams have 4 Division IV basketball championships since the division was created in 1973.
The championship game itself was the earliest scheduled in Division IV history; scheduled at a 10 AM EST tip off due to conflicts with the Division I tournament. Over 200 people packed the Traverse City Middle School Gymnasium for the event, one of the largest crowds in recent tournament history since the championship game drew over 500 people in 1995 when it was held at Madison Square Garden. The Beavers got off to a quick start, leading by 12 points by halftime. They would continue to build upon that lead in the second half. Coach Raniere had this to say about the performance of his kids, "They really gave their 100% this entire tournament. Because of them, we got to host all the preliminary rounds, which really gave us the boost we needed to get this far. I wasn't sure how they'd respond to playing away here in Michigan, but they came out with the desire to win."
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