grant mccasland

NIT HISTORY
1987
Fayetteville, Ark.
March 13
First Round
Arkansas 67, Arkansas State 64 OT
In a game dubbed by the Arkansas media as “the
game of the Decade,” the Razorbacks scored
four overtime baskets - all from less than five
feet away - to finish off a depth-riddled, foulplagued
A-State team that led handily most of
the contest. A-State led only once during the
overtime at 64-63 on Steve Wiedower’s trey
with 2:01 left. A-State’s earlier 21-point lead (51-
30 with 10:43 to play) evaporated as Arkansas
used two late three-pointers by Ron Huery and
two more by Canon Whitby to force the overtime
knotted up at 59-all. Some missed free
throws and costly fouls limited A-State during
the final three minutes of regulation. John
Tate’s 18 points and 14 rebounds led all players
in the game while Arkansas was paced by Mario
Credit’s 15 points and Ron Huery’s 14-point
performance.
1988
Jonesboro, Ark.
First Round
March 18 Arkansas State 70, ULM 59
Bo Brown and John Tate each scored 18 points
and Brown claimed a team-leading 12 rebounds
for A-State, which put the game away with a
21-9 scoring spurt to start the second half. Greg
Williams added 15 points for A-State. Michael
Saulsberry had 17 points and 14 rebounds for
ULM, which was held to 38.7 percent shooting
in the game.
Palo Alto, Calif.
Second Round
March 22 Arkansas State 60, Stanford 59
Rhon Johnson swished the front of a two-shot
free throw opportunity with no time remaining
to lift A-State to the upset win. A-State trailed
most of the game and rallied behind John Tate
and Ed Louden. Stanford missed the front of
four-straight one-and-one chances in the final
3:29, enabling A-State to creep back. Tate’s
layup at 1:22 tied it up at 59-all. The Cardinal
couldn’t connect on their next possession and
following an A-State timeout with 19 seconds to
go, Johnson drove the baseline and attempted a
reverse layup before being fouled just prior to
the final horn.
Fort Collins, Colo.
Quarterfinal
March 25 Colorado State 64, Arkansas State 49
Pat Durham’s inside quickness was too much
for A-State as he led CSU to easy success with
26 points. A-State trailed by 18 points midway
through the second half and could not recover.
Ed Louden’s 13 points and John Tate’s 12 led
A-State, which was hampered by 40 percent
field goal shooting. The game was a stopover on
A-State’s return from Stanford.
1989
Lincoln, Neb.
First Round
March 16 Nebraska 81, Arkansas State 79
A-State came back from a 15-point deficit midway
in the second half to take a 79-76 lead with
48 seconds left due to the outside shooting of
Ed Louden. But Nebraska’s Eric Johnson scored
four straight points to give the Cornhuskers an
80-79 edge with 14 seconds to play. The Huskers’
Ray Richardson hit a free throw with six seconds
left for the final margin. A-State had a chance to
tie the game with no time left but Chris Dillard
missed the front of a one-and-one after being
fouled just before the final buzzer. John Tate’s
23 points and 22 by Louden paced A-State. Johnson’s
18 points led the Huskers.
1991
Jonesboro, Ark.
First Round
March 14 Arkansas State 78, Rice 71
Bobby Gross nailed 22 points and Dewayne
McCray added 20 for A-State, which took the
lead for good at 43-42 with 17:19 to play. Gross
hit eight of his 10 shots from the field, McCray
nine of his 14 and Fred Shepherd all six of his en
route to 17 point as A-State shot 58.8 percent
from the floor. McCray claimed a game-high 10
rebounds while Shepherd grabbed nine boards.
Brent Scott had 21 points and Dana Hardy contributed
19 for Rice.
Memphis, Tenn.
Second Round
March 18 Arkansas State 58, Memphis 57
Bobby Gross’ free throw with 11 seconds left
was the difference in A-State’s third straight
one-point win over the Tigers. His 12th point of
the game pushed A-State’s edge to four points,
58-54, and negated Elliott Perry’s three-pointer
with four seconds to play. A-State faced a ninepoint
deficit (46-37) at 10:12, but rallied to tie
at 47-all on Gross’ baseline jumper at 6:43 before
taking the lead for good (53-51) on Gross’
three-pointer from the corner. Gross led A-State
with 12 points while Phil McKellar and Dewayne
McCray added 10 apiece. Perry (10-of-13 from
the field) led Memphis with 24 points followed
by Tony Madlock’s 16 points.
Boulder, Colo.
Quarterfinal
March 22 Colorado 81, Arkansas State 75
Four Colorado starters scored in double figures
as the Buffaloes shot a blistering 65 percent from
the field and converted 11 A-State turnovers into
21 points. Stevie Wise notched 23 points and Billy
Law 16 to head Colorado. A-State was paced
by Phil McKellar’s 22 points, Fred Shepherd’s
16 and Bobby Gross’ 13. A-State led 56-54 with
12:26 to play, but the Buffaloes used a 12-0 run
and never looked back from there.
NIT Records
POINTS
Team 79 at Nebraska 3/16/89
Player 23 John Tate at Nebraska 3/16/89
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS
Team 56 at Nebraska 3/16/89
Player 16 John Tate at Nebraska 3/16/89
FIELD GOALS MADE
Team 33 at Nebraska 3/16/89
Player 11 John Tate at Nebraska 3/16/89
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Team .589 at Nebraska 3/16/89
Player .800 Bobby Gross vs Rice 3/14/91
3-PT FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS
Team 15 at Colorado State 3/25/88
Player 9 Ed Louden at CSU 3/25/88
3-PT FIELD GOALS MADE
Team 8 at Nebraska 3/16/89
Player 5 Ed Louden at Nebraska 3/16/89
3-PT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Team .571 at Nebraska 3/16/89
Player .750 Ed Louden vs Stanford 3/22/88
FREE THROW ATTEMPTS
Team 26 vs Rice 3/14/91
Player 8 Fred Shepherd vs Rice 3/14/91
FREE THROWS MADE
Team 16 vs Rice 3/14/91
Player 5 Fred Shepherd vs Rice 3/14/91
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
Team .706 at Memphis 3/18/91
Player 1.000 Bobby Gross vs. Rice 3/14/91
REBOUNDS
Team 43 at Arkansas 3/13/87
Player 14 John Tate at Arkansas 3/13/87
ASSISTS
Team 24 vs ULM 3/18/88
Player 12 Brian Reaves vs Rice 3/14/91
STEALS
Team 11 at Stanford 3/22/88
Player 4 Bo Brown vs ULM 3/18/88
BLOCKS
Team 3 vs ULM 3/18/88
Player 2 John Tate vs ULM 3/18/88
OUTLOOK PLAYERS STAFF REVIEW RESULTS RECORDS HISTORY
MEDIA
ASTATEREDWOLVES.COM 97