March 14, 2008

Point Lookout, Mo. - John Gray's go-ahead jumper with 12 seconds left to play put top-seed Bellevue into the Elite Eight with a 65-61 victory over #16 Aquinas at the 2008 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The 17^th-annual event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks (Mo.). 

Leading by one, Bellevue scored 11 straight points to pull ahead 29-17, the largest lead of the game, with 3:40 left in the first half.  Aquinas was able to close the gap to six by halftime.

The Saints then scored the next six points to tie the game at 31 early in the second half. From there, the game was extremely close with both teams leading at different times during the final 10 minutes. With the score tied at 61, Bellevue forced a turnover and after a Bruin timeout, Gray hit the go-ahead jumper with the shot clock winding down from the free throw line. Aquinas took the ball down on the ensuing possession and attempted to tie the game but had the shot blocked by Klaye Rowe with two seconds left. A pair of free throws by Gray sealed the win.

Bellevue was led by Gray with 19 points and five rebounds. Rowe netted 13 while Hannibal Cofield scored 10. The Bruins shot just 1-of-11 from the three point line but were able to limit the Saints to just 44% from the field and forced 17 turnovers. Bellevue is the first top-seed since 2003 to advance to the Elite Eight.

Aquinas was led by senior Jeff Wierzbicki who closed out his career with 21 points. He made 8-of-11 field goal attempts, 3-of-4 three pointers. John Lierman scored 14 points and pulled down 11 boards to register the double-double. He made four more three pointers to give him 10 for the tournament. The Saints end their season with a 25-9 overall record.

The Bruins improve to 31-3 overall and advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in the program's history and first time since 2004. Bellevue will play #9 Bethel (Ind.) in the first game tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 18.