Friday, April 3, 2009
Kangas finishes runner-up in three-point competition
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| Erik Kangas finishes the Annual State Farm Three-Point Championship as runner-up. |
Oakland University's Erik Kangas advanced to the finals of the 21st Annual State Farm Three-Point Championship before falling to All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team and Miami player Jack McClinton, 22-16, on Thursday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
"I was mostly coming out here to have fun and wanted to have a good showing," said Kangas. "I didn't want to have the worst score in the three-point championship history. I'm pretty satisfied."
Kangas, a native of DeWitt, Mich., became the first OU player to compete in the three-point contest. He advanced to the semifinals of the competition with first round score of 23, second best in the opening round.
In the semis, Kangas finished with 19 points, the top qualifier in that round to setup a showdown with McClinton.
"I was still a little bit nervous, but all the support from the fans and every three that went in built up my confidence more and more," said Kangas.
The Hurricanes' McClinton came out on fire making his first seven shots to end with 22 points. Kangas started with three straight before missing a few and just couldn't get it going as he ended with his lowest point total at 16.
"He was stroking them," said Kangas. "He's a great shooter. I knew I got 23 the first round, but that was going to be tough to duplicate."
Kangas ended the year as OU's top three-point shooter with 348, and set a new Summit League single-season record with 135 treys this year. He garnered All-Summit League and NABC All-District first team honors.