CBI 2015: Semifinals Scores, Updated Bracket and Finals Schedule

As a competitor, a championship is a championship, whether it is a YMCA title as a 10-year-old or the NCAA championship with the nation watching.

With spots in the CBI title series on the line Wednesday, Vermont, Louisiana-Monroe, Loyola (Illinois) and Seattle brought the intensity one would expect for high-profile March clashes. Their one shining moment was at stake, and the victors advanced to the final stage of the bracket.

With that in mind, here is a look at the semifinals scores, a finals schedule and more.

Semifinals Scores

Matchup	Result
Vermont vs. UL Monroe	71-65, UL Monroe
Loyola vs. Seattle	63-48, Loyola

CBI Bracket 

An updated bracket can be found at GazelleGroup.com.

Finals Schedule

The championship series of the CBI is a best-of-three games matchup.

Matchup/Game	Date	Time
UL Monroe vs. Loyola	March 30	TBA
UL Monroe vs. Loyola	April 1	TBA
UL Monroe vs. Loyola	April 3 (if necessary)	TBA

Wednesday Recap

Louisiana-Monroe 71, Vermont 65

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks had something of an on-off switch Wednesday night, and they turned it to the on position on two different occasions. That is all they had to do to walk away with a hard-fought 71-65 victory over Vermont and earn a spot in the championship series.

The Warhawks came out of the gates on fire and opened up a 20-8 lead in the first eight minutes of the game. It appeared as if they were going to run away with the contest without much of a fight, but Vermont battled back to take a 35-33 halftime lead. 

Louisiana-Monroe then tapped the on switch again after the intermission and went on a commanding run to create all the separation needed for the rest of the game. Alex Abrami of the Burlington Free Press described the scene:

Incredibly, Louisiana-Monroe was able to pick up the victory without a single point from its bench. All five starters scored at least six points, with Tylor Ongwae and Majok Deng leading the way with 22 points apiece. It was a career-high for Deng, while Ongwae made some critical plays in the final minutes, as the team’s official Twitter account pointed out:

The senior Ongwae was particularly motivated to continue his career heading into the CBI, as his comments suggested, per Adam Hunsucker of The News Star: “That game against Georgia Southern really bothered me and I felt like we could have further and made it to the tournament. Just like against Eastern Michigan this could have been my last game for ULM and I want to leave something behind at this place.”

Vermont had a more balanced scoring attack, with nine different players scoring at least three points, including Ethan O’Day with 16, but it was not enough to win in front of the hostile Louisiana-Monroe crowd.

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Now the Warhawks will head to the championship series, and it is not that difficult to envision them winning the title if Ongwae continues to play like he has recently.

The senior scored 22 points Wednesday, 27 points against Mercer in the previous round and 26 points in the first round against Eastern Michigan. Sometimes all it takes is one elite scorer in these CBI contests to take over and put his team on his back, and that is exactly what Ongwae has done thus far.

Throw in the contributions of Deng, and the Warhawks look like a potential CBI championship team.

Loyola 63, Seattle 48

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

Sometimes the score of a game can be misleading. That's the case with Loyola’s 63-48 victory over Seattle from Wednesday night.

The Redhawks actually led the game by a single point at halftime, and the two teams battled back and forth for the majority of the second half. The Ramblers seized a 46-42 lead with three minutes remaining, and it appeared as if the fans were in for a typical college basketball postseason finish in March.

That is when Loyola caught fire.

The team’s official Twitter account described the scene:

While Loyola’s offense did enough scoring down the stretch to come away with the victory, it was the defense that made the difference in the game. The Ramblers forced Seattle into 22 turnovers and relentlessly pressured the ball-handlers throughout the contest. It was no accident that the Redhawks finished with a measly 48 points. 

Devon Turk and Earl Peterson led the way for Loyola with 15 points apiece, but it was Turk’s shooting that made life particularly difficult on the Seattle defense. He drilled five three-pointers for all of his scoring and elicited the following response from Derrick Docket, the Associate Commissioner of New Media at the Missouri Valley Conference:

The Redhawks received 12 points from William Powell and 10 points from Jadon Cohee, but the team as a whole struggled mightily on the offensive end. In addition to the 22 turnovers, Seattle shot an abysmal 4-of-17 from three-point range and never stretched the Loyola defense enough to do any damage.

Next up for Loyola is a matchup with Louisiana-Monroe in the championship series.

It will be interesting to watch the Ramblers defense, which played at an incredible level Wednesday, try to slow down the red-hot Ongwae during the best-of-three series. Something will have to give. 

Whatever does will ultimately determine who wins the CBI championship.