Here is a reprint from the Wilson Daily Times
No ESPY for Atkinson, Bulldogs
LOS ANGELES — This time, David didn't have enough rocks in his slingshot.
Barton College, which won the NCAA Division II men's basketball championship in March, couldn't match the voting power of the Los Angeles Dodgers in ESPN's ESPY Awards balloting.
The Bulldogs were beaten by the Dodgers in the category of Best Finish in the awards presentation in the Kodak Theatre on Wednesday evening, Barton sports information director John Hackney said.
Barton head coach Ron Lievense and point guard Anthony Atkinson attended the event, which will air on ESPN on Sunday night at 9. It was Atkinson who scored 10 points in the final 45 seconds to help the Bulldogs overcome a seven-point deficit and upset defending champion Winona (Minn.) State University in the Div. II championship in Springfield, Mass.
Atkinson made the game-winning layup with fractions of a second remaining following a steal by teammate Bobby Buffaloe.
But the four consecutive home runs hit by the Dodgers in the ninth inning to tie their game with the San Diego Padres last Sept. 19 resonated more with the public, which was able to cast votes on the ESPN Web site.
The Dodgers ultimately won the game, 11-10, on Nomar Garciaparra's two-run homer in the 10th inning.
The other two nominees in Best Finish, a new category this year, were Curlin's victory by a nose against Street Sense in the Preakness horse race and Kevin Harvick's Daytona 500 triumph against Mark Martin by .02 seconds, the same amount of time remaining on the clock when Atkinson's game-winning layup swished through the net.
Lievense and Atkinson were the guests of ESPN and attended pre- and post-ESPY parties.
- Paul Durham
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