KBZK

Posted: Mar 19, 2010 2:52 AM
Updated: Mar 19, 2010 7:40 AM

Upon touching down in Kansas City, Missouri, University of Montana Western head coach Steve Keller said his Bulldogs were going to play like they can, with hot shooting, smart ball handling and a very large post presence by the name JaRon Brown.

Averaging 15.5 points per game, Brown has the most dependable source of scoring the Bulldogs have had since Matt Luedtke in 2004 when the former Butte Daredevil  posted 22 points per game.

But Luedtke, and everyone else who has worn Bulldog black and red in the last 21 years, never made it to the stage the Bulldogs owned Thursday night. This team made it to the show, and celebrated an 82-79 win in front of 5,000-plus and 31 other NAIA squads in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium.

Luedtke was among the Bulldogs in celebration. He's been an assistant coach to Keller for the past three years.

But the Bulldogs found themselves in a shootout with some Bulldogs of the Union University variety, and considering the prestige surrounding the Digger-Dawg rivalry in Southwest Montana, the Dawg-Dawg showdown was certainly one Western would like to claim this year as well.

Keller's keys to the game were well-calculated if not spot-on: First, great shooting performances are created by high percentage shots. The Dawgs from Dillon drilled 50 percent of their attempts from the field, deviating slightly from their league leading three point shooting, which ranks fifth in the nation (.397) in favor of an inside-out offense. Feed the ball inside, create shots outside.

"We were getting good shots," Keller said around midnight from his Marriot hotel room in Kansas City. "We only took nine threes. Down here at the tournament, you've got to go inside. You can't sit back and shoot threes. You've got to get it down low. And we got to the line 30 times. If we get to the line 30 times, we're going to be tough to beat."

With the 30 slings from the free throw line, 24 sank. Whitehall product Layne Glaus was responsible for the majority (11-14) with eight of 10 falling in the final four minutes. Keller credits his senior point guard for heading to the bucket strong to create the late opportunities.

But along with Glaus' 15 points and fellow senior JaRon Brown's 20 point clip, Keller raised Union University another Brown, in the form of 5'10" sophomore Brandon Brown, who added 18 points on six of 13 shooting. For the sake of continuing a poker reference, the Dawgs raised Union another Brandon as well. Brandon Lawson sweetened the pot with a 16 point total and a 2-2 performance from the arc.

Four players in double digits and an uncanny 27-54 team shooting performance. Keller called it "a total team effort." And it was due to preparation.

"We've been down here since Monday, and we practiced three times down here. We were ready to play. I felt like we played with a sense of urgency and I didn't think they did. I thought they overlooked us a little," he said.

From here on out in Kansas City, no team will commit the same offense. And the Dillon dancers have less than 24 hours to prepare for seventh seeded Southern Nazarene. (Western is unseeded in the tournament.) Keller undoubtedly will use the late hours of the night and the time during the seven games played prior to the Bulldogs 8:45 p.m. MT tip-off to develop a plan for 6'9" junior Jeremy Lightfoot, who scored 29 as the Crimson Storm bounced the first set of Bulldogs on their tournament slate, the Bulldogs of Tougaloo.

"He's going to cause us some problems," Keller admitted. "But we'll figure out a way to limit him a little and they're a team that if we keep them off the free throw line, we've got a chance."

Keller has a point. The Storm shot 31 of 38 from the free throw line Thursday and like Montana Western, they also shot 50 percent from the floor as they improved to 26-6 on the season. The Dawgs are now 25-9.

With capable and experienced seniors compiling a crafty Western starting five, the inevitability of college careers coming to an end is haunting. And it will happen soon, whether it be Friday in the Sweet Sixteen, Saturday in the Elite Eight, Monday in the Final Four or Tuesday in the National Championship. But Keller's squad is invigorated by the reality of a tournament win and the end may seem further away than odds makers have allowed Montana Western.

"I was very proud of them just for getting here and we talked about that in pre-game. We said, ‘Hey, let's not be satisfied with just getting here. Let's get to the Sweet Sixteen and see what happens. We have a team in our league, Rocky, that last year won it all so we know that our team is similar to that Rocky team. I'm not saying we're going to win it all but we have a chance. We're not dying. We're playing pretty well right now."

Tip off is 8:45 p.m. MT and 9:45 p.m. in Kansas City. The game can be tracked or viewed on the NAIA tournament web site at NAIA.org.

Shane Ewing can be reached at sewing@kxlf.com or sewing@kbzk.com