WBA names 2005 All-Tournament Teams, Thomas Awarded Tourney MVP honors
2005 WBA ALL-TOURNAMENT AWARDS
Tournament MVP:
Harvey Thomas (204-F-82), Rome Gladiators
1st Team All-Tournament:
Detrick White (183-G-76St.), Mississippi HardHats
Austin Nichols (198-F-82, college: Humboldt St.), Rome Gladiators
Terrence Simmons (193-G), Gulf Coast Bandits
Horatio Webster (199-F/C-75St.), Mississippi HardHats
Harvey Thomas (204-F-82) (204-F-82), Rome Gladiators
2nd Team All-Tournament:
Daryl Dorsey (186-G-81), Rome Gladiators
Jared McCurry (191-G-80), Kentucky Reach
Marcus Taylor (191-G-81), Southern Crescent
Edmund Saunders (203-F/C-78), Rome Gladiators
Theanthony Haymon (201-F-78, college: Austin Peay St.), Cleveland Majic
3rd Team All-Tournament:
Alonzo Evans (192-G/F, college: Cumberland (TN)), Cleveland Majic
Jamario Moon (203-F-80), Rome Gladiators
Dejan Smith, Southern Crescent
Marshall Sanders (198-F-79, college: Ky Wesleyan), Kentucky Reach
Kenny Walker (206-F/C-80, agency: Court Side, college: Alabama), Magic City Court Kings

Rome Gladiators 2005
Ellis	Dorsey	Nichols	Johnson	Thomas	Mitchell

 Rome hangs on to Capture WBA Championship...
On Saturday night at the Winthrop-King Centre, the Rome Gladiators went from worst to first. Rome held off the Mississippi HardHats 103-100 to win the World Basketball Association championship just one season after finishing with a 6-15 record, worst in the WBA.
“Our main goal at the start of the season was to win our division,” said Gladiators coach Harold Ellis. “But I thought if we played together, we could be a special team and boy, were we special tonight. “To go from worst to first is just amazing to me. I can’t believe the effort these guys gave to make this happen.” With the win, Rome (24-3) also avenged its only home loss of the season and avenged all three of its regular-season losses in the postseason.
The Gladiators led 101-96 with just under a minute to go in the game and seemed to be in control, but Mississippi two free throws from Detrick White and a layup by David Sanders (192-G-80) with 11 seconds to go to get to within 103-100. The HardHats forced a turnover and had the ball with a chance to tie with 9.6 seconds to go, but the Gladiators’ defense — which held Mississippi to just 41.5 percent shooting on the night (34-for-82) — forced a miss on a 3-pointer from  deep in the left corner as the buzzer sounded.
The Gladiators’ coaches and players rushed the floor to celebrate, while the song “Game Over” by Lil’ Flip blared over the loudspeakers and sent the Winthrop-King Centre crowd into a frenzy.
“Coach Ellis said it best,” said Gladiators point guard Damien McSwine (193-G-78, agency: EM-PA, college: Loyola, IL), who joined the team midway through the season. “Everyone on this team does something well enough to play on the next level. “We have a talented group of guys and all of them contributed to winning this championship.”
Harvey Thomas (204-F-82) had a huge game for the Gladiators, scoring a game-high 31 points and adding seven rebounds and three assists. Jamario Moon (203-F-80) had 19 points, eight rebounds, nine blocked shots and three assists, Austin Nichols (198-F-82, college: Humboldt St.) added 19, eight rebounds and six assists and Edmund Saunders (203-F/C-78) had 16 and seven rebounds. Damien McSwine (193-G-78, agency: EM-PA, college: Loyola, IL) — who left the game briefly after suffering a cut on his forehead — had a solid all-around game off the bench, scoring six points, grabbing seven rebounds, handing out six assists and making two steals.
After leading by as much as 10 in the third quarter, Rome took a 74-69 lead to the fourth quarter, the first time in the postseason the Gladiators had led going into the final period. Rome extended its lead to 92-82 with 5:23 remaining, but Mississippi made a game of it before the Gladiators held on to win the title.
White had 22 points and 11 assists to lead the HardHats. Horatio Webster (199-F/C-75St.) had 19, Toraino Johnson and Sanders added 15 each, Ernest Scott (200-F-82) chipped in 12 and Tyrone Davis (198-G/F-79, college: Coahoma CC) finished with 10 for Mississippi.
Miss. HardHats vs. Rome Gladiators
Miss. HardHats (20-7)
Tyrone Davis 4-12 2-2 10, Toraino Johnson 5-12 5-5 15, Tim Henderson 2-8 0-0 5, Detrick White 7-18 5-6 22, David Sanders 5-8 4-5 15, Mario Myles 1-1 0-0 2, Horatio Webster 6-15 5-7 19, Ernest Scott 4-8 3-5 12. Totals 34-82 24-30 100
Rome Gladiators (24-3)
Harvey Thomas 11-23 8-10 31, Daryl Dorsey 2-9 3-7 8, Edmund Saunders 6-13 4-6 16, Carl Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Shawnson Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Sidney Holmes 1-3 0-0 2, Austin Nichols 7-14 3-3 19, Jamario Moon 7-12 3-4 19, Kitwana Rhymer 1-1 0-0 2, Damian McSwine 1-6 4-4 6, WILLIE TAYLOR 0-0 0-2 0, JERMAINE SPIVEY 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-84 25-36 103

FG%: Miss. HardHats .415, Rome Gladiators .429. 3-pt FG:Miss. HardHats 8-24 (Henderson 1-5, White 3-7, Sanders 1-3, Webster 2-6, Scott 1-3), Rome Gladiators 6-13 (Thomas 1-2, Dorsey 1-2, Saunders 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Nichols 2-4, Moon 2-3). Rebounds: Miss. HardHats 44 (Sanders 9), Rome Gladiators 57 (Nichols 8, Moon 8). Fouls Miss. HardHats 29, Rome Gladiators 26. Fouled out: Myles . Technical: WebsterWebster, MitchellMitchell, DavisDavis, SandersSanders. Assists: Miss. HardHats 22 (White 11), Rome Gladiators 25 (Nichols 6, McSwine 6). Steals: Miss. HardHats 10 (Sanders 3), Rome Gladiators 6 (Moon 2, McSwine 2). Blocked shots: Miss. HardHats 3 (Davis 2), Rome Gladiators 9 (Moon 9). Turnovers: Miss. HardHats 18, Rome Gladiators 19. Attendance: 1723. DakStats 3000 by Daktronics Inc.Brookings, SD

 WBA season Awards presented...
THE WORLD BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION HANDED OUT SEASON AWARDS LAST NIGHT AT THE SEMI-FINAL GAMES. WBA LEAGUE COMMISSIONER MIKE GLENN PRESENTED THE AWARDS. THE FOLLOWING AWARDS WERE PRESENTED...
HEAD COACH OF THE YEAR: Harold Ellis , ROME GLADIATORS
GM OF THE YEAR: MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS
COMMISSIONER’S AWARD: Andy Stoglin , MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Daryl Dorsey (186-G-81), ROME GLADIATORS
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Myron Allen (181-G-79), ARKANSAS ARCHANGELS
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
Bobby Brown (198-F-79), SOUTHERN CRESCENT
Detrick White (183-G-76), MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS
6TH MAN OF THE YEAR: Joe Hamilton (198-F), MACON BLAZE
EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAM OF THE YEAR: SOU. CRESCENT LIGHTNING
CENTRAL CONFERENCE TEAM OF THE YEAR: ROME GLADIATORS
WESTERN CONFERENCE TEAM OF THE YEAR: MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS

1ST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE:
PG - Daryl Dorsey (186-G-81), ROME GLADIATORS
SG - Timmy Bowers (188-G-82), GULF COAST BANDITS
SF - Ernest Scott (200-F-82), MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS
PF - Edmund Saunders (203-F/C-78), ROME GLADIATORS
C - Steve Thomas (203-F-81), CLEVELAND MAJIC

2ND TEAM ALL-LEAGUE:
PG - Detrick White (183-G-76), MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS
SG - Jared McCurry (191-G-80), KENTUCKY REACH
SF - Harvey Thomas (204-F-82), ROME GLADIATORS
PF - Brandon Robinson (202-F-81), MAGIC CITY
C - Darius Eason (205-F-82), ARKANSAS ARCHANGELS

3RD TEAM ALL-LEAGUE:
PG - Myron Allen (181-G-79), ARKANSAS ARCHANGELS
SG - Flem Tucker (183-G), MACON BLAZE
SF - Bobby Brown (198-F-79), SOUTHERN CRESCENT
PF - Rogers Washington (202-F-77), CLEVELAND MAJIC
C - Nate Williams (210-C-80), SOUTHERN CRESCENT

4TH TEAM ALL-LEAGUE:
PG - Marcus Taylor (191-G-81), SOUTHERN CRESCENT
SG - Jamario Moon (203-F-80), ROME GLADIATORS
SF - Josiah James (201-F-81), MAGIC CITY COURT KINGS
PF - Glen Worley (203-F-81), GULF COAST BANDITS
C - George Leach (210-C-81), GULF COAST BANDITS

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM:
Bobby Brown (198-F-79), SOUTHERN CRESCENT
Detrick White (183-G-76), MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS
Jamario Moon (203-F-80), ROME GLADIATORS
Terrell Ross (193-G), KENTUCKY REACH
Derrick Williams (175-G-81), MAGIC CITY
David Sanders (192-G-80), MISSISSIPPI HARDHATS
Xavier Oliver (201-F), SOUTHERN CRESCENT
George Leach (210-C-81), GULF COAST BANDITS