March 10, 2006

MidAmerica Nazarene (Mo.) defeated Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.) 66-57 in the second round of the 15th Annual NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The 2006 event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

In a second round matchup featuring two unseeded teams coming off the two biggest upsets of the tournament, Cardinal Stritch struck first and jumped out to a 20-8 lead. MidAmerica Nazarene stormed back in the first half and took a 24-23 lead with 2:24 left in the first twenty minutes. The Wolves regained a slim 25-24 lead at the break. The game was tied and lead changed hands several times in the second half until a 12-7 MidAmerica Nazarene run over a four minute span gave the Pioneers a 58-52 lead with under a minute to play.

MidAmerica Nazarene placed four players in double figures, led by sophomore guard Adam Hepker with 18 points and five assists. Freshman Danny Hawkins recorded a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. He made 8 of 14 field goal attempts and is shooting 62% from the field (16/26) in the Pioneers' two wins. Junior guards Ryan Rundberg and Jacob Nellor scored 12 and 10 points respectively. MidAmerica Nazarene shot 43% from the field and dominated the glass with a 43-32 advantage over Cardinal Stritch. The Pioneers, who received one of the final at-large bids to qualify for the national tournament, is making their eleventh appearance at the tournament and eighth straight.

Cardinal Stritch was led by all-Chicagoland Collegeiate Athletlic Conference junior Marquelle Joyner who scored 14 points. Joyner, who poured in a tournament-high 36 points in their opening round win over 11th seed Southwestern College (Kan.), made 3 of 10 field goal attempts and was 8 of 13 from the free throw line. Juniors Leo Moran and Tyler Inda netted 13 and 12 points respectively. Unlike their first round game in which they shot 50% from the field, the Wolves made just 38% of their field goal attempts. Making their sixth national tournament appearance, the CCAC tournament champions end their season with a 25-9 record.

MidAmerica Nazarene improves to 24-10 on the season with the win and advances to the quarterfinal round on Saturday. The Pioneers will face the winner of defending champion #3 Walsh University (Ohio) and 2004 national champion #14 Oregon Tech. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 14.

Box Score