2015 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament


The 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game was won by Cornerstone University of Grand Rapids, Michigan over Dakota Wesleyan University of Mitchell, South Dakota by a score of 66 to 45.

Tournament field

The 2015 tournament field was announced on March 14 in a live selection show. The field is made up of 23 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large bids and one automatic host bid presented to College of the Ozarks. This tournament field welcomed the return of four out of the last five champions, led by defending champion and top seed Indiana Wesleyan University along with Cardinal Stritch, Cornerstone, and Saint Francis. There were four newcomers to the bracket, Brescia, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene and St. Francis of Illinois.
The complete field consists of Ashford, Bellevue, Bethel, Brescia, Briar Cliff, Cal Maritime, Cardinal Stritch, Concordia, Cornerstone, Dakota State, Davenport, Embry-Riddle, Friends, Grace, College of Idaho, Indiana University East, Indiana Wesleyan, Midland, Milligan, Morningside, Mount Mercy, Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene, College of the Ozarks, Saint Francis, Saint Thomas, Southern Oregon, Tabor, Union, and Warner Pacific.

Highlights

Fab Four

The fifth ranked Dakota Wesleyan Tigers came back from a twelve point deficit to defeat the College of Idaho Yotes 88-80 and advance to the NAIA championship game. On the other side of the bracket, Davenport hit three free throws in the final six seconds to secure a 79-75 win over defending champion Indiana Wesleyan.

Championship game

Cornerstone won their third national championship, defeating Dakota Wesleyan 66-45 behind a twenty-four point performance by Ben Lanning.

Tourney awards and honors

NameSchool
Dominez Burnett*Davenport
Bishop RobinsonDavenport
Trae BerghDakota Wesleyan
Jalen VossDakota Wesleyan
Kris MenningDakota Wesleyan
Ben LanningCornerstone
Travis WellsCornerstone
DeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle
Cesar PastranaEmbry-Riddle
Dalton BarnesEmbry-Riddle

Statistical leaders

CategoryPlayerSchoolTally
Most pointsJalen VossDakota Wesleyan106
Most points per gameDominez BurnettDavenport21.25
Leading rebounderBen LanningCornerstone59
Leading rebounder per gameBen LanningCornerstone11.8
Most assistsDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle45
Assists per gameDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle11.25
Assist/Turnover ratioMartin TateDakota Wesleyan5.33
Three-pointers madeTrae BerghDakota Wesleyan16
Best overall field goal percentageCesar PastranaEmbry-Riddle71.4%
Best 3-point field goal percentageDominez BurnettDavenport77.8%
Most free throws madeCesar Pastrana Embry-Riddle24
Most free throws madeKyle Steigenga Cornerstone24
Best free throw percentageTy MasonCornerstone92.9%
Most stealsDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle21
Most steals per gameDeForest CarterEmbry-Riddle5.25
Most shots blockedBen LanningCornerstone7
Most shots blocked per gameBen LanningCornerstone1.4

2015 NAIA Division II bracket

Epilogue

When the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams, almost all the players were represented at the national tournament, with a few notable exceptions including Lawrence Jackson of Northwestern Ohio, Jordan Nelson of Waldorf, Andre Winston of Southeastern.
NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams
1st Team
NameSchoolHometown
Dominez Burnett*DavenportFlint, Michigan
DeForest CarterEmbry-RiddleBig Cypress, Florida
Grant GreenbergSaint MaryLeavenworth, Kansas
Johnny MarlinIndiana WesleyanGreenwood, Indiana
Steve O’NeillMorningsideCouncil Bluffs, Iowa
Matt SchaussBethelGreens Fork, Indiana
Tony SmitCardinal StritchFond du Lac, Wisconsin
Kyle SteigengaCornerstoneHolland, Michigan
Jalen VossDakota WesleyanWorthington, Minnesota
Josh WilsonCollege of IdahoLos Angeles, California


2nd Team
NameSchoolHometown
Lawrence JacksonNorthwestern, OhioRocky Mount, North Carolina
Jordan NelsonWaldorfNeenah, Wisconsin
Dondre OsbornMount MercyZion, Illinois
Demetrius PerkinsCollege of IdahoCompton, California
Tobin ReinwaldHastingsLincoln, Nebraska
Alex StarkelMidlandNorfolk, Nebraska
Zach SteinmetzLourdesToledo, Ohio
Tim WeberSouthern OregonRoseburg, Oregon
Andre WinstonSoutheasternTacoma, Washington
Clay YeoBethelBourbon, Indiana

3rd Team
NameSchoolHometown
Brandon ColeBryanCrossville, Tennessee
Brandon EleyAIBZearing, Iowa
Austin FoxSaint Francis Muncie, Indiana
Ilya IlyayevSaint Francis Los Angeles, California
Aaron LarsonOlivet NazareneTolono, Illinois
Alex StarkelMidlandNorfolk, Nebraska
Ben LenningCornerstoneGrandville, Michigan
Kris MenningDakota WesleyanCorsica, South Dakota
Austin MorrisBresciaEvansville, Indiana
Brequan TuckerJamestownJoliet, Illinois


Honorable Mention
NameSchoolHometown
Bryant AllenDakota StateMaplewood, Missouri
Trey BardsleyNebraska WesleyanBeatrice, Nebraska
Cameron ClarkSouthwesternLewisville, Texas
Derek DanielsCollege of the OzarksMountain View, Missouri
Jeremy ComerPresentationIndianapolis, Indiana
Nick FrazierSt. AmbroseBellwood, Illinois
Warren HallWarner Tampa, Florida
Logan IrwinGrace South Whitley, Indiana
Deante JohnsonUnion College Cincinnati, Ohio
Jack KriegerSaint Xavier Plainfield, Illinois
Percy LemleBellevue Carson, California
Gabriel MartinezNorthern New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Alex MarzetteRobert Morris Racine, Wisconsin
Fredricus MattisonNorthwood Anderson, South Carolina
Diamontae McKinleyAshford Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Esvan MiddletonConcordia Culver City, California
Cesar PastranaEmbry-Riddle Cartagena, Colombia
Nathan RindelsDordt Boulder, Colorado
Alec SchwabWilliam Penn Peru, Illinois
Trey ScottWaldorf Fridley, Minnesota
Jake SimpsonIndiana University SoutheastLouisville, Kentucky
Dion SmithMarian Indianapolis, Ind.
Andrew ThomasTabor Grenada
Eric ThompsonSouthern OregonRoseburg, Oregon
Jerah’me WilliamsPoint Park Youngstown, Ohio