All-Time Colonials Get Big Win First title in 30 years as stars shine

by Teresa Stewart

The 2001-2002 season was a year unlike any in the Runnin' Colonial's history: It began with a lot of uncertainty but ended with a long-awaited resolution. The 17 men who played under Charlie Peck and Peter Quinn made memories that will last them a lifetime.

Before the Colonials could concentrate on winning, they had to establish unity within their own team. They had six returning players from the 2000-2001 season, two players (Curtis Small and Keith Bogad) returning from a year hiatus from the team, and nine new players, eight of them freshmen and new to college basketball. Fortunately for coaches Charlie Peck and Peter Quinn, tri-capatins, Small, Bogad, and Jason Lewis assumed the responsibility for incorporating team chemistry. It would be these same three seniors who demonstrated leadership and talent throughout the season. Bogad was the Colonials' best defensive player. As Quinn states, "his drive to succeed would rub off on the team and influence each player's individual effort." Quinn also feels that Lewis was the team's workhorse and that Small, "was arguably the most exciting player in all of Division II."

The season began with three consecutive losses to Southern Connecticut State, Caldwell, and NYIT. Then, a home victory against Queens changed the path the Colonials were traveling on. Southampton was ranked sixth in a pre-season poll and Queens was ranked third. This was the first time the Colonials would prove that they were underestimated. At half time, the Colonials led 46-38. They lost the lead, 66-67, with nine minutes remaining, but they refused to throw in the towel. Inspired by Small, who controlled the game and scored nine points in the last four minutes, Southampton won 84-82. The wins kept on coming and perhaps the sweetest victory was over C.W. Post on Dec. 12. The Colonials avenged the two losses they suffered from the Pioneers in 2000-2001 with a 101-84 triumph. This was the first time since November 27, 1998, that Post allowed a team to break the century mark. Lewis scored 47 points that game - only three shy of breaking Daryl Cambrelan's 1987-88 record.

Chris Granozio, a regional reporter who covers all of Division II basketball from New Jersey to Maine wrote, "From a historical standpoint, Lewis' 47 point game was the highest by a player in this region since Merrimack's Darin Alix equaled that output in February of 1997." Keeping the pendulum swinging, Small would later score 49 points against Concordia. As for the rivalry between the two LIU schools, Southampton defeated CW Post twice in 2001-02. The second victory was 91-77 and 6-10 junior Eric Bradley had one of his best games, with a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds). After winning four games in a row, the Colonials moved into first place, along with Adelphi, in the NYCAC. After defeating St. Thomas Aquinas in the Capital Key Classic Tournament in Albany, the Colonials had singular possession of first place. Small and Lewis were the best one-two punch in Division II basketball last season; but they weren't the only ones contributing for the Colonials. When Southampton, ranked at No. 3 in the NYCAC, hosted No. 2 Bridgeport on January 9, sophomore Billy Mandell started in place of an injured Bogad. His efforts made the difference between a loss and the 86-78 victory. Mandell was good for 11 points, six assists and three rebounds in his 27 minutes of play. The second time the Colonials played Queens, on Jan. 24, they defeated the Knights 92-89. Freshman point guard Leon Pursoo had 13 points, three boards and seven assists. Freshman Wayne Inniss, contributed 13 points, six boards, one assist and four steals.

Another valuable asset to the Colonials was sophomore Jye Watson. Watson started every game his freshman year and began the 2001-2002 season as a starter. But due to the abundance of talent on the team, he found himself playing sixth man. However, his production continued. Quinn notes, "Jye took a tremendous hit in his playing time. He went from being the No. 1 or 2 option in 2000-2001, to our No. 3 or 4 option last season. But along the way he became a much more efficient shooter. His three-point shooting percentage went from 32.2 percent as a freshman, to 40 percent as a sophomore. And he had some incredible outputs along the way. In some cases he had more points than minutes in a game." In the Jan. 26 game against Mercy, Watson contributed 12 points in only 19 minutes. This game was significant; with the 92-82 victory, the Colonials surpassed the win total of the previous season.

The Colonials defeated Dowling 104-99 on February 9 and Concordia 107-96 on Feb. 13. In these two games combined, Lewis had 52 points, Small had 51, and Bradley had 36.

Southampton qualified for the NYCAC Quarterfinals and hosted NYIT, a team that defeated the Colonials twice in the regular season. Lewis was out with an injury, so freshman Joaquin Smits replaced him in the starting line-up. Smits took advantage of his first collegiate start and produced 12 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one block against the Bears. Watson led the Colonials with 20 points, three assists and two rebounds in only 19 minutes of play, and Small was good for 19 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Despite the hard work, the Colonials lost 83-71.

But the Colonials were given another chance to prove they are not a team to underestimate. For only the second time in Southampton Graduate Campus' history, the Runnin' Colonials received a nomination for the post season Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament. Quinn says, "The experts of Northeast Region basketball saw that we had Philadelphia and possibly Saint Rose as opponents, and we were written off. I know that this program is getting to be on the same level as those teams, but we hadn't really shown anything during the regular season or the NYCAC playoffs. So it didn't matter what we thought, we had to take a stand as a team."

And take a stand, they did. The Colonials defeated the Philadelphia Rams on the Rams' own court, a feat few teams have accomplished, 88-66. Southampton led 42-30 at the half and Small ensured that the Rams would never gain control. Small had 28 points. Lewis, who played for the first time since his ankle injury, contributed 16 points and eight rebounds and Bradley had 11 points and seven boards. Junior Rafael Diaz played a vital role, too. As Quinn notes, "Against Philadelphia in the semi-finals of the ECACs, Ralphie completely took their starting point guard out of the game while Leon Pursoo rested. Without his role in that game, Brett Storm may have regained control of his team and the game. Ralph smothered any chance they had."

The next day, the Colonials defeated powerhouse St. Rose 113-101. The Colonials went on an 8-0 run at the start of the game, with Small owning six of those points. He ended with 46 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals and was named the ECAC District II MVP. Bogad and Pursoo were good for 16 points apiece, and Lewis added 14 along with six rebounds. Both Lewis and Small were named to the ECAC All-Tournament Team. The Colonials ended the season with a record of 17-12.

Both coaches felt overwhelmed. Quinn says, "When I saw Curt, Keith and Jason go up to accept their awards and the ECAC trophy I couldn't help but think about all of the hardship that they have gone through over the years. And I was just very proud of them."

Lewis and Small were honored at the 69th annual banquet in New York City that was held by the NIT/Met basketball Writers Association. Lewis was awarded the first team trophy and Small, the second team trophy. Small ended the season ranked sixth in the country for scoring in Division II. He averaged 23 points a game. Small also led the nation in all three divisions in free-throw shooting. He hit an amazing 94 percent of his foul shots.

Lewis was ranked 18th in the country for Division II scoring, with his average of 20.9 points a game, and 17th for rebounding. Lewis has a career total of 1732 points, which places him third on the all-time scoring list of Southampton Graduate Campus. Small is one step behind with 1668 career points.

Last year will go down in the Runnin' Colonials' history as one of the College's most successful seasons. It was the first time the team won the ECAC Tournament Championship. It was also the first title of any sort since 1972, when the Colonials won the Northeast Championship in the NCAA Tournament and went to the Final Four.