WRAL Sports Fan

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Barton Victory Nominated for ESPY Award

Jun 27, 2007

Wilson, N.C. — Three months after Barton College won a national basketball championship on a last-minute rally and a last-second shot, the victory is back in the spotlight.

ESPN has nominated the NCAA Division II championship game as one of four finalists for "Best Finish" in its annual ESPY Awards contest.

Senior guard Anthony Atkinson scored 10 points in the final 45 seconds to lead Barton to 77-75 victory over Winona (Minn.) State, which was riding a 57-game winning streak. Atkinson's final basket came on a layup as time expired after a teammate stole the ball at midcourt.

"It's still kind of crazy because you've got people talking about it every day," Atkinson said.

He and Barton coach Ron Lievense plan to attend the ESPY Awards ceremony in California in July.

"It's going to be a pretty cool experience, you know, being in there with all the people you see on TV every day like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, people like that," Atkinson said.

A Los Angeles Dodgers' victory over the San Diego Padres that included four consecutive ninth-inning home runs, Kevin Harvick's 0.02-second victory over Mark Martin in the Daytona 500 and Curlin's narrow win over Street Sense in the Preakness Stakes are the other finalists for the "Best Finish" award.

"To be placed up against that competition is incredible," Lievense said.

"It's going to be pretty tough because a lot more people like NASCAR and baseball then a lot of people think. So, it's not going to be that easy," Atkinson said. "We're the underdogs in this one, too, so maybe we'll pull this one out, too."

The nomination means more than another possible trophy for the team. It also brings more national exposure to the small Wilson college.

"What it means is we have moved beyond the whole idea of getting advertising simply for awareness. There is a lot more awareness of the college," Barton President Norval Kneten said.

Barton already has seen an increase in applicants, Kneten said.

"The publicity has been tremendous for our school and our basketball program," Lievense said.

• Reporter: Mike Charbonneau
• Web Editor: Matthew Burns