March 10, 2006

Fourth-seed College of the Ozarks  (Mo.) defeated  #13-seed William Jewell (Mo.) 77-76 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.).

College of the Ozarks jumped out to their biggest lead of the game early in the first half when they led 13-6 at the 13:20 mark. William Jewell tied the game at 19 with ten minutes left and the two teams exchanged the lead four times prior to halftime before the Bobcats scored the last six points to take a 39-34 lead into the locker room. William Jewell recorded the largest lead in the second half when they led 60-55 with under eight minutes to go. The host Bobcats outscored the Cardinals 8-2 to retake the lead 63-62 with 7:31 left in the game. The game was tied three times and the lead went back and forth during the last seven minutes. Senior Andrew Boyce made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left to give Ozarks the lead and William Jewell forward Drew Mathews missed a jumper as time expired.

College of the Ozarks was led by junior Michael Bonaparte who recorded a double-double with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Heath Sitton scored 19 points, including four three point field goals. The Bobcats shot 51% from the field. College of the Ozarks reached the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2000 and are in the national tournament for seventh consecutive year.

William Jewell was led by Drew Mathews who just missed his second straight double-double as he scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds. He was just 1 of 8 from the three point line. Cam Cooper and Ronald Robinson added 18 and 13 points respectively. The Cardinals shot 44% from the field, 29% from the three point line. They outrebounded the Bobcats 35-30. William Jewell was making their tenth appearance in the national tournament and end their season with a 27-8 overall record.

College of the Ozarks improves to 26-6 on the season with the win and advances to the quarterfinal round on Saturday. They will face fifth-seed Mayville State (N.D.) in Saturday's quarterfinal game scheduled for 6 p.m. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 14.

Box Score