Division 2 Chamionship!

[JJweMISSu]

Wow thats one of the best finishes ever. Feel bad for Wiona St but what a crazy job done by Barton i hope you guys saw the end to that.



ps. my bad about the spelling of championship

[FireOgilvie]

Wow. That was amazing. I've never seen anything like that... so much drama in the last minute.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Congratulations to Barton College for winning the Div. 2 National Championship, with a most improbable but fantastic 5 point comeback in the last 45 seconds!

Barton is located in Wilson, NC, about 30 miles east of Raleigh and 25 miles north of Smithfield, right on I-95.

Let's hope that this is the only basketball National Championship in this state this year...

[365Duke]

There will 2 National Champs in N.C.

The Lady Blue Devils Being the Other of course

[Ralph-Wiggum]

That was awesome.

[Son of Jarhead]

Aww, Man! I switched back to the Duke Women's game when there was just under 2 minutes left and Barton down 5. What happened? I hope someone will post the last minute or so on youtube or something.

Barton has been amazing in close games this year. I thought I heard that they won an NCAA record 9 overtime games this year! Every game in their tourney run came down to the wire and they won all. Impressive!

[throatybeard]

ESPN just showed the hilite. Barton is down 2 with 12s left, drives the lane, and scores to tie it. Winona State comes back with a quick transition possession after the made basket but turns the ball over at halfcourt. Barton guard takes all the way to the hoop for the winning layup as time expires. Barton players run around the court like Laettner and Hurley.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

There will 2 National Champs in N.C.

The Lady Blue Devils Being the Other of course

Mea culpa. I was talking men's titles, as I sit here watching the women play in Greensboro.

Go Devils!

[365Duke]

That Sucks!!!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

That Sucks!!!

Well put. Most disappointing loss by the Lady Devils.

[bloodevil]

Anthony "Ant" Atkinson, the guy who won this and so many games for Barton this year is a Wilson, NC native like myself. He attended Greenfield School, the same small, private school that I did. I graduated from Barton as well, but it was known as Atlantic Christian College back then. Everyone in Wilson is buzzing right now, especially the Greenfield and Barton communities. You would not believe the number of phone calls I have had in the past 2 hours! Sorry for the stream of consciousness, but that was one incredible game, and it will mean so much for this little town of Wilson.

[throatybeard]

Jumbo gave me a link to it:

http://www.foulballs.net/2007/03/holy-balls.html

[throatybeard]

Barton's hero:

http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/559444.html

[vango]

My nephew is a soccer player at Barton (injured right now) and is friends with that kid. Says he's a great kid, very unassuming, very nice and friendly.

[Tom B.]

Here's a link to a better quality video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFYnersg2Us

You can also see the highlights here (scroll down to the link for "NCAA Division II Championship"):

http://cbs.sportsline.com/video/player/videos

I think the funniest part of the highlight occurs after Atkinson scores the game winner. He starts running in a loop towards his team's bench, then sees his teammates coming to mob him and immediately changes direction and starts running away from them. He runs around behind the basket and down the other side of the court, with three or four teammates chasing on his heels. The video then cuts to a closeup of another Barton player who has pulled his jersey off. As that player is celebrating, you can see Atkinson and his teammates (who are still chasing him) run by in the background, going from left to right.

Barton's win obviously conjures up memories of Jason Williams and the Miracle Minute at Maryland in 2001, but in some ways Barton's win was even more impressive. Duke's comeback only tied the game, while Atkinson's one-man-run won the game in regulation. Also, Barton had even less time to come back (45 seconds, whereas Duke had 61 seconds, although Duke was down by 10 while Barton was down by only seven). Lastly, Atkinson's run consisted only of two-point baskets -- no three-pointers.

[Son of Jarhead]

I saw him interviewed on WRAL-TV and he does seem like a really good kid. He will be Wilson's hometown hero for a generation at least, maybe several.

Also, Barton winning an NCAA record 9 overtime games in one season is a truly amazing feat.