Hall of Fame
The Bulldog basketball team advanced to the NCAA Final Four that season after winning their final eight conference regular season games, three conference tournament games, with two wins coming in the final seconds and sweeping through the South Central regional tournament. The remarkable run began after overcoming a 20-point halftime deficit to win at the buzzer on Feb. 1st at Washburn University 67-65. The Bulldogs would close the regular season with an upset of #1 ranked Pittsburg State in Pershing Arena by a 75-64 margin. In the conference tournament, Truman knocked off Missouri Southern in the opening round in Kirksville by three, then Cory Parker silenced the Pitt State crowed as he rain bowed a jumper in as time expired giving Truman a 76-74 victory in the semifinals. Returning back to a jam packed Pershing Arena, the Bulldogs, behind two late free throws by Jason Reinberg, earned the conference trophy and automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Reinberg’s free throws with one second left gave the Bulldogs a 70-68 victory over Northwest Missouri. In the regional, Truman ended the seasons of Missouri Western (82-69), host Midwestern State (81-68) and Abilene Christian (76-69) to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in Louisville, Ky. Truman’s first game in the national quarterfinals may have been one of the greatest games in the school’s history. Fighting a pesky St. Rose (N.Y.) team, the Bulldogs earned a hard-fought 106-101 triple overtime victory to advance to the final four. The next night, the Bulldogs fell behind by 24 points to Metro State (Colo.) but again rallied back in the second half. However, the Roadrunners were able to hold on to the 69-65 victory to halt the winning streak at 15 games and end the Bulldogs season at 26-7. Members of the squad coached by regional coach of the year Jack Schrader and assisted by John Sloop were: All-American Cory Parker, Academic All-American Jason Reinberg, Brian Brown, Jason Ramthun, Andy Guethle, Mike Peterson, Jason Ward, Chris Foulk, Spencer Douglas, AJ Crum, Kyle Eagan, Moni Fearn, Dusty Bruner, Donnie Daggett, Peter Aydt and Dan Mailath.
