March 14, 2007

Kansas City, Mo. - Park University (Mo.) battled back from a 14-point deficit in the first half to post a 68-62 victory against Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) on Wednesday in the first round of the 2007 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

 

Senior forward Brandon Voorhees scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half to help the Pirates move on to the second round of tournament play. Park, the No. 7 seed, pushes its record to 25-6 overall. The Pirates will square off with No. 10 Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) Friday at 6:15 p.m. CDT.

 

Olivet Nazarene jumped out to an 18-6 lead and extended its margin to 29-15 on a three-pointer by freshman guard Ryan Paxson with 8:50 left in the first half. Park started to chip away at the deficit and pulled to within 36-29 at the intermission.

 

Early in the second half, Olivet Nazarene regained a double-digit lead before the Pirates put together another rally. Voorhees scored 11 points during a 16-2 run that put Park in front, 58-55, with 5:14 on the clock. The Tigers rallied and tied the game at 60 on a basket by junior center Phil French just two minutes later.

 

On the Pirates' next possession, sophomore forward Jon Meriweather scored on a lay-up and free throw that gave Park the lead for good at 63-60.

 

Senior guard Kevin Nelson also scored 21 points to share team-high scoring honors with Voorhees. Meriweather and junior forward Nick Burton each connected for 12 points for Park, while Voorhees pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. Nelson dished out six assists and collected four steals for the Pirates.

 

French led Olivet Nazarene with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Paxson chipped in with 17 points and four assists, while freshman forward Tyler Wallenfang had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers. Olivet Nazarene wrapped up its season with an overall record of 17-12.