March 9, 2007

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Second-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio), 75-73, Friday afternoon to reach the quarterfinal round of the 16th-Annual NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The 2007 event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) escaped a final Mount Vernon (Ohio) desperation shot to outlast the Cougars despite holding a 10-point, 57-47 margin with 10 minutes remaining in the final half of play. Mount Vernon made a 26-16 run to tie up the game with 13 seconds remaining after a Dan Borcherdt three-pointer. MidAmerica's Danny Hawkins rebounded an Adam Hepker layup scoring with .6 seconds left. Mount Vernon had a full length in-bounds pass and shot that missed the side iron falling short of another comeback victory.

MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) was led by two Pioneers scoring 17 points each, Danny Hawkins, who had a double-double in the first round, and Jake Nellor. Adam Hepker scored 15 points in the victory as Akuien Wour registered a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The #2 seed Pioneers shot 50% from the field (16 of 30) taking only 2 three-point attempts while out-rebounding their opponent 41-32.

Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) had a game-high 19 points from senior forward Mark Hess and Borcherdt netted 17. Dustin Ultican had 12 points which included 4 of 7 shooting from behind the three-point line as the Cougars shot 42% as a team from behind the arc (10 of 24).

MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) improves to 31-2 overall and will face #10 Indiana Wesleyan in Saturday's quarterfinal game. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 3:00 pm. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 13.