I just had an entire blog entry typed out then hit the wrong button and deleted it all. Technology is great. To sum at least the first part of it up…. Congratulations to Darrin Dorsey on his first-team All-American honor. Very well deserved, and he’s still got something to chase next year — NAIA player of the year. Congrats also to Preston Broughton and Brady Wiebe, who were named to the honorable mention and third teams, respectively. The honor is especially great for Broughton, who didn’t play a single minute last year and then came back this year like nothing had happened. Great honor for all of them.

I don’t know if anyone else had been paying attention to the remainder of the national tournament, but I had, just to see how things ended up. Tuesday, St. Francis became the second-lowest seed (No. 15) to win a national title when it upset top-ranked Walsh by a single point, 67-66. I’m not sure how DWU reacted to this, but I know I immediately started thinking about the what-ifs.

What if DWU had grabbed a few more rebounds and turned them into more points inside? What if the Tigers had held onto even a few of their turnovers and turned them into points instead? Then DWU heads to the Elite Eight instead of Cornerstone to take on St. Francis. St. Francis beat Cornerstone 79-73, then beat No. 6 Oklahoma Wesleyan by the same margin in Monday’s Final Four.

I wonder if the Tigers were maybe thinking a little too far ahead in their game against Cornerstone and that was a part of the problem. Thinking about playing St. Francis and avenging one of their six losses on the season. St. Francis was one of the last teams to beat DWU in a tournament in Chicago right before Christmas. The Tigers lost, 71-62, and fell to 9-4 on the year at that point. That game maybe wasn’t the worst of the year for the Tigers, but the second half certainly wasn’t great, or even good.

After shooting more than 60 percent from the field in the first half, DWU, which led by three at halftime, came out and shot 28 percent in the second half. St. Francis, meanwhile, shot 50 percent and pulled away to win. The Tigers also had 19 turnovers in the game, which I’m pretty sure has to at least be close to a season high. So to say DWU wanted to avenge one of its losses at the national tournament might be an understatement. And now, seeing that St. Francis won it all, knowing that they had a very good shot at beating St. Francis… that’s got to be tough to swallow.

But, things happen for a reason, and there’s always next year, and who knows how things would have worked out, anyway? Maybe it was just St. Francis’ year. Who knows. It’s just interesting to think about.

Well I made it back to Mitchell. It rained most of the 10-plus hour drive from Branson. DWU SID Matt Higgins and I made a two-car caravan on the drive, which helped a little. I still hope not to have to drive anywhere anytime soon, though.The drive itelf wasn’t terrible, just long. I went around Kansas City, which was nice, as well as Omaha and St. Joseph. Took several state highways until I got to I29, and from there it was a straight, easy shot. 

Hopefully my computer will let me post some pictures I got at the tournament. College of the Ozarks does a fantastic job. The hospitality room for media and coaches was phenomenal. Plush couches and chairs, a huge flat-screen TV broadcasting the games from the gym and a buffet full of delicious food. They had a small food court in the gym for fans and a band for entertainment. The gym itself was comprable to the Corn Palace, I’d say. It looked to sit about as many people and there certainly wasn’t a bad seat in the house.

(Here’s the Ketter Gymnasium. Nice gym, about Corn Palace size. Notice the blimp in the top left. It flew around the gym during timeouts and stops in play and was very entertaining to me at least.)

I didn’t get to see much of the campus, but what I saw looked very pretty. It looked as though the campus was on a bluff overlooking Branson, and I’m sure when it’s green it’s gorgeous. I noticed there were tulips blooming, which was fun to see this early in March.

(This is not a shot of campus, but it’s a pretty decent shot of Preston Broughton dunking that didn’t get run in the paper.)

The little bit of Branson that I was able to see was fun. I’m disappointed I didn’t get to go to the Hollywood wax  museum down the road from my hotel. Or wander around and explore a bit. The cold, rainy weather kept me in my hotel room the little bit I was down there. I was pretty disappointed in the weather, but it’s not like cold, rainy weather is anything new to me I suppose. I did, however, get to eat at the highly-acclaimed Rib Crib. I had heard nothing but good things about the restaurant from many people, and I thought it lived up to its billing. Next time you’re in Branson, go.

(Rib Crib. Delicious. Try it.)

That’s about it, I think. I didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked due to the short stay, but that’s how it goes I guess. I’ll post more game photos on the Daily Republic’s Web site as a photo gallery sometime in the very near future.

Less than 24 hours after I arrived in this interesting, busy city, I’m just about ready to leave. Another 10 hours of driving will make it 20 hours in two days. The good news is I’m finding music I haven’t listened to in years in some of my old mixed CDs I’m digging out.

Before I check out I thought I’d look at the game again with a few hours gone by and a clearer head. My analysis: if Brady or Mitch would have done anything, the Tigers would have won. If Chase would have hit more than one of the eight field goals he shot (I think six were 3-pointers) it really would have helped. And if DWU could have kept Cornerstone off the boards… If, if, if. No room for those. It just wasn’t meant to be — not this year, anyway.

Time for me to check out and hit the road. I’ll try and post some pictures when I get home of Keeter Gymnasium and the game and random Branson tidbits. And give a few more thoughts on the tournament. Like the fact that College of the Ozarks does a heck of a job hosting it.

See everyone back in Mitchell.

(Chase Walder goes up for a layup during the second half of the Tigers’ Sweet 16 game against Cornerstone. (Leah Rado/Republic))

That was tough to watch. After a fantastic season, one cold shooting night ended it all for the Tigers. It just seemed like nothing was working for Dakota Wesleyan. The Tigers couldn’t get the stops they needed and nothing was going on. They shot 37.3 percent from the field. They were 19-for-51 from the field — and nine of those 19 field goals were threes. If it wasn’t a three, it just wasn’t going in. Especially inside, when DWU tried to go inside.

Coach Hemenway blames himself for not calling Brady Wiebe and Preston Broughton’s numbers more on the inside. Cornerstone’s big guys did some damage inside and got some big rebounds. Kelvin DeVries also hit the biggest shot of the night — a three with 1:51 to play. That marked the start of an 8-0 Cornerstone run to end the game. That shot, combined with Broughton fouling out not even two minutes earlier, just took it all out of DWU, I think.

Aside from Dorsey, Broughton and Jake Kneeland — who hit three 3-pointers — no one did anything. Mitch Bain and Wiebe had four points each and Bo LaCroix, Mark Mingo and Chase Walder combined for eight points. Four players scored in double figures for Cornerstone, led by 20 from Caleb simons who was just a beast inside.

Tough way to end a fantastic season. Everyone came into tonight with dreams of the Elite Eight and then Final Four after No. 2 Oregon Tech lost to No. 15 St. Francis, but it wasn’t meant to be. Not this year. That’s why there’s always next year.

To say there’s no offensive rhythm in this game would be a gross understatement. With 4:42 left to play it’s 52-50. Neither team has led by more than four. DWU led 11-7 early and Cornerstone went up 31-27 early in the second. DWU’s 3-point shooting is keeping it in the game. The Tigers can’t hit much else right now it seems like, and they can’t stop Cornerstone, either.

It’s 52-all with 4:30 to go. Offensive foul Broughton, his fourth. Oh man. Not good.

I don’t know if DWU is still nervous or too relaxed or what the deal is but they are struggling. Less than four to go. Turnover. Oh boy.