For the first time in school history, the Pioneers (24-4) will be part of the 59-team NCAA Tournament field to be announced Monday. First-round contests begin on Thursday with sites to be determined.
"I could not be prouder of this team," Transy head coach Brian Lane said. "We told our seniors back when we recruited them over four years ago that we were going to be playing for the championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. It seemed far off at that point, but these guys have worked so hard to get themselves in this position. There's really nothing like tournament time at Transy."
The Pioneers, whose 24 wins are their most victories since the 2000-01 squad finished 27-2, currently are on a five-game winning streak.
"This is a special team," Lane said. "We started talking about tournament play several months ago. We didn't want our guys to get here and be so excited that we wouldn't execute and lose in the first round. They have learned how to handle situations like this and I am so proud of them."
Senior guard Marc Bain was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after leading the Pioneers with a team-high 17.0 ppg during the three-game HCAC Tournament. Bain, who has scored in double figures 15 times this season, scored 10 points in the game. Senior forwards Matt Finke and Joey Searle led the way for the Pioneers with 14 points each. Fellow post player Bryan Howard, who also was named to the all-tournament team, added 11. Finke finished with a team-high eight rebounds.
"We wanted to continue to attack offensively tonight," Lane said. "The beginning of the game was kind of back-and-forth, but our guys loosened up and played like they are capable of playing. We were able to score and it got them back on their heels a little bit."
The Pioneers shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field in the game, while Franklin connected on 38.9 percent (21-of-54) of its shots. Transy limited Franklin without a three-pointer in the game, as the Grizzlies went 0-for-12 from beyond the arc.
Transy took the early lead in a tightly contested first half, breaking to a 10-7 advantage at the 13:51 mark of the first half on consecutive baskets by Howard and Finke.
After the Grizzlies came within one, 14-13, the Pioneers scored four consecutive points capped off by Finke's driving lay-up with 8:06 remaining in the opening period.
Trailing 18-13, Franklin used an 8-0 run to go in front 21-18 with 5:50 left until halftime. Finke then scored a basket and Howard sank a jumper from the left wing on the following possession to give Transy a 22-21 advantage at the 3:58 mark. After the Grizzlies re-took the lead 23-22, the Pioneers closed the half on a 7-2 streak that was highlighted by a Stephen Gabbard three-pointer to lead 29-25 at halftime.
The Pioneers scored the first three points of the second half and quickly built an 11-point (44-33) advantage when Gabbard knocked down his second three-pointer of the game at the 10:58 mark. Bain sank a three-pointer with 7:46 remaining to extend Transy's lead to 16 points, 51-35. The Pioneers continued adding to their lead and went ahead by as many as 19 points (56-37) with 4:41 left in the game on jumper by Finke.
Franklin was led by Nick Kane's game-high 19 points and game-high 11 rebounds.
2005-06 HCAC All-Tournament Team
MVP - Marc Bain (Transylvania)
Nick Kane (Franklin)
Bryan Howard (Transylvania)
Scott Bergman (Bluffton)
Dustin Marshall (Franklin)
Kevin Darthard (Mt. St. Joseph)