Greensboro, N.C. — Guilford College senior Ben Strong (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) concluded play at the 2008 Collegiate Basketball Invitational Tournament Friday. Strong averaged 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in three contests for the MBM Logistechs squad that placed sixth in the eight-team tournament.
Ben Strong
Strong was one of 64 college seniors from the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and the NAIA levels selected for the event held April 24-26 in Wadsworth, Ohio. Eight teams of eight players each played three games in two days at Wadsworth High School. An all-star team was chosen from the participants, and the all-star game was televised live April 26 on ESPNU. Strong was not selected to an all-star team. In 2007, 18 of the 20 all-stars were offered professional contracts.
One of seven Division III students in the field, Strong shot a team-best 55.6 percent from the floor and averaged 2.3 assists and 1.7 blocks over three games. He ranked fourth in the tournament in blocks per game and 28th in points per game. After scoring two points in MBM Logistechs’ opening-round 95-78 loss to tourney runner-up Louis Perry & Associates, he bounced back with 14 points and eight boards in his team’s 96-87 victory over Wadsworth-Rittman. Strong netted a team-high 21 points on nine-of-11 shooting from the floor in MBM Logistechs’ 125-99 loss to Renacci-Doraty Chevrolet in the fifth-place game. He added five rebounds and three assists in the contest.
A two-time first-team All-American and Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Year, Strong concluded his Guilford career in March ranked second in school history with 2,241 points. He helped coach Tom Palombo’s club to the 2007-08 ODAC regular-season and tournament titles as well as NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in 2007 and 2008.