March 11, 2006

No. 2 seed Huntington University (Ind.) overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat #10 Morningside College (Iowa) 82-70 and advance to the semifinals 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.).

Morningside pulled out to a 9-3 lead and led 14-8, before Huntington came alive and used a 14-2 run to go up 22-16. The Mustangs recovered to retake a six-point advantage (33-27) and led 35-29 at the half. Morningside was paced by a 7 of 14 performance from long range.

The Mustangs continued to control play to start the second half, pushing the lead to as many as 11 (52-41) with 14:49 to play. However, that lead was gone by the eight minute mark as the Foresters used an 18-6 run to go up 59-58. The teams exchanged buckets over the next few minutes, but the Foresters took the lead for good at 62-61 with 7:15 left and pulled away down the stretch. Huntington shot 68% from the field in the second half, while holding the Mustangs to just 31%.

Kyle Benge was a key contributor to the comeback, pouring in 12 of his 19 points in the second half. Kyle Ganton led the Foresters (31-5) with 20 points, Doug Scheckler added 17 points, and Alex Kock contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds. This is Huntington's first trip to the semifinals since 2000.

Brad Schmit finished with 21 points for Morningside (28-7), who was making its first national tournament appearance. Schmit connected on 6 of 13 three pointers. Tim Johnson added 16 points and Thomas Pargett finished with nine for the Mustangs

Huntington advances to the semifinal round on Monday at 6 p.m. where they will face unseeded MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), who shocked #3 seed and defending champion Walsh (Ohio), 74-68, earlier in the day. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 14.

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