Motown Madness : Falcons tip-off in Elite Eight tonight

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 20, 2007

It&8217;s been just over a week since Marcus Kennedy sent a shock through the McChesney Student Activity Center with his half-court buzzer beater to send the University of Montevallo (29-5) to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.

Tonight, Kennedy and his Falcons will hope that there&8217;s still a little Motown magic remaining, as they put their 19-game win streak on the line against Central Missouri (30-3) in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals at 5 p.m. CST.

&8220;Central is really athletic with good shooters, ball handlers and big guys. I think they&8217;re a lot like Valdosta State and Grand Valley State,&8221; head coach Danny Young said.

The Falcons took two days off following last Tuesday&8217;s thriller. While Darron Robinson and others were reviewing their reaction to the shot or replaying the clip from ESPN&8217;s Sports Center, Kennedy went fishing.

&8220;I kind of hid out on Wednesday, because I knew it was going to be crazy, but on Thursday, Friday and Saturday everybody was still coming up to me talking about the game. They&8217;re still excited about it,&8221; Kennedy said.Now Robinson, just like Kennedy and his teammates, is ready to play in the Elite Eight.

&8220;I expect to see good teams out there. Last year I couldn&8217;t really do anything because of my injury, but this year I&8217;m ready to go out there and help my team, so we can go ahead and bring that national championship home,&8221; said Robinson, whose 6-foot-8 frame will be a factor in playing with the larger teams in the post that UM will face.

Central Missouri (30-3) advances from the South Central region led by Zak Wright&8217;s 18.6 points per game and 127 assists.

If the Falcons can get past the UCM Mules, then they will face an undefeated team in either Bentley (32-0) or Winona State (33-0). Bentley is led by a trio of players averaging 12 points per game, while the defending national champions ,Winona State, use the outside/inside threat of guard Zach Malvik and center John Smith, who average 16.4 and 16.9 points per game, respectively.

&8220;I haven&8217;t seen Bentley, but Winona is awfully good and awfully big,&8221; Young said.

A trip to Saturday&8217;s title game could possibly mean a rematch with Grand Valley State, one of the last teams to beat Montevallo, 59-58, on Dec. 29 in Florida. They are the only two teams in the Elite Eight that have played each other during the regular season.