March 12, 2007

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - #13 Mayville State (N.D.) defeated Northwest (Wash.), 74-65, to advance to the championship game 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.).

Northwest made the games first run, jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead. Mayville battled back and took their first lead at 16-15 with 11 minutes left to play. The Comets continued to lead until six straight points by the Eagles tied the score at 27. The two teams battled back and forth over the final minutes in the opening half with Northwest with a 35-34 lead heading into the locker room.

Just like the start of the first half, the Eagles jumped out early in the second behind a trio of three pointers to take a 10 point advantage (52-42). Mayville came back again and outscored Northwest 11-1 over the next three minutes to tie the score at 53. They continued to pull ahead and took their biggest lead with 3:03 left to go, 69-57 on a three pointer by Ron Howard. The Eagles made one last run and cut it to six (63-59) but Howard made four straight free throws to seal the victory for Mayville State.

Mayville State placed four players in double figures, led by Matthew Stenehjem and Ronald Howard with 16. Monty Rogers netted 12 and Scott Theis added 10 for the Comets. Mayville State shot 48% from the floor but struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 20%.

Northwest was led by Aaron Sawyer with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Keller and Stephen Ishmael added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Both Ishmael and Axton dished out five assists. The Eagles came into the game shooting 53% from the field for the tournament but shot just 38% from the floor against Mayville State. Northwest, making their first ever national tournament appearance, ends their season with a 27-9 overall record.

Mayville State (N.D.) advances to the championship game tomorrow night against the either #2 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) or #11 Northwestern College (Iowa). Tipoff for the championship game on Tuesday, March 13 is at 8:30 pm.