After the rough reception the slow-down teams received at the national championship last spring, the AIAA rules committee finally acknowledged that it was time to do something about it. The challenge was that many schools and especially coaches, who had enjoyed great success with the slow-down game, were vehemently against making a drastic change out of fear it would cost their clubs victories and perhaps even coaches their jobs.
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The debate raged on all year and it was not until the end of the season a decision was made on a new rule that would help ease the stall play once and for all. The new rule called for the addition of a mid-court line. After crossing it, a team with the ball was not permitted to retreat back across the line. In the past a team on offense could use the entire court to spread the defense, and more often than not the focus became trying to play keep-away instead of trying to score. Jack Lough and North Carolina Tech implemented it to perfection, relying on it even early in games once they built as little as a four point lead. It led to dull, low scoring games and that had become a major problem for the sport.
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Of course before we could see that new rule in action, which would take effect next fall when the new season began, basketball fans had to sit through one more year of slow-play style.
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The tournament was interesting in one regard as it gave us plenty of upsets along the way. Most of the top ten fell early with the second round being deadly for Coastal California, Chesapeake State, Carolina Poly and St Patrick's while in the quarterfinals CCLA would also bow out. The upset trend continued to Bigsby Garden where Annapolis Maritime and St. Ignatius were the semi-final favourites as each entered the semis with 30 victories on the season. The Navigators were facing a Brooklyn State club they had soundly beaten during the regular season but the Bears pulled off a 26-23 upset. St. Ignatius was the class of the midwest this season and with the two Los Angeles powers knocked out early in the west region, the Lancers were expecting to play in Monday's title game. Northern California, which had a losing record the previous season and had not made the tournament in any of the four previous years, proved just how deep the West Coast Athletic Association was with a 31-26 win over St. Ingatius. The hometown crowd made all the difference in the title game, wildly cheering Brooklyn State on to victory as the Bears won 27-15 to become the first New York school to win the national title since Henry Hudson did it back in 1914. The slow-down play was still very much prevelant again this season, but the Bigsby Garden crowd minded it much less when a local entry was doing it on its way to a championship. Fortunately, with the incoming rule change that would soon be a thing of the past.
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NATIONAL TITLE PLAYOFF
SEMI-FINALS: Northern California 31 St Ignatius 26
Brooklyn State 26 Annapolis Maritime 23
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TITLE GAME: Brooklyn State 27 Northern California 15
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1931-32 MAJOR CONFERENCE CHAMPS
ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: Brunswick 15-15 (10-4)
NORTHEAST: St Patrick's 21-9 (11-5)
DEEP SOUTH: Western Florida 19-10 (9-3)
GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE: St Ignatius 30-4 (14-2)
WEST COAST ATHL ASSN: Coastal California 26-5 (13-3)
SOUTHWESTERN ALL.: Canyon A&M 23-6 (11-3)
PLAINS: Travis College 17-12 (10-4)
SOUTH ATLANTIC: Carolina Poly 28-3 (12-2)
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1931-32 TOP TEN
1- Coastal California 26-5
2- Carolina Poly 28-3
3- CC Los Angeles 24-7
4- Annapolis Maritime 30-3
5- Northern California 25-9
6- St Ignatius 30-4
7- St Patrick's 21-9
8- Brooklyn State 23-11
9- Chesapeake State 22-9
10- Lane State 21-11
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LIST OF AIAA CHAMPIONS
1909-10 Henry Hudson Explorers
1910-11 Brunswick Knights
1911-12 Brunswick Knights
1912-13 Georgia Baptist Gators
1913-14 Henry Hudson Explorers
1914-15 George Fox Reds
1915-16 CCLA Coyotes
1916-17 Chicago Poly Panthers
1917-18 Brunswick Knights
1918-19 Pierpont Purple
1919-20 Bayou State Cougars
1920-21 Carolina Poly Cardinals
1921-22 North Carolina Tech Techsters
1922-23 North Carolina Tech Techsters
1923-24 North Carolina Tech Techsters
1924-25 Whitney College Engineers
1925-26 Chicago Poly Panthers
1926-27 Opelika State Wildcats
1927-28 CCLA Coyotes
1928-29 Columbia Military Academy
1929-30 Carolina Poly Cardinals
1930-31 Chesapeake State Clippers
1931-32 Brooklyn State Bears
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ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM
C Robert McNew SR Coastal California
F Alan Myers SR Richmond State
F Kevin Bloodworth JR Annapolis Maritime
G Charlie McNew JR Central Ohio
G Tim Cantrell SR St Patrick's
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ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
C Elmo Gallegos SR Brooklyn State
F Les Redding JR Detroit City College
F Alex Padilla SR Carolina Poly
G Aaron Newlin SR Piedmont University
G Van Ruby SR Annapolis Maritime
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PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Tim Cantrell St Patrick's
COACH OF THE YEAR - Pug Johnson Annapolis Maritime