March 15, 2006

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) shot nearly 55 percent from the field on its way to an 83-72 victory Wednesday against No. 15 seed San Diego Christian College (Calif.) in the first round of the 69th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

The Blue Raiders set a team record by hitting 78.6 percent (11-of-14) of their shots from three point range to advance to the NAIA second round for the third year in a row. Lindsey Wilson will face either Louisiana State University-Shreveport or Southern Polytechnic State University (Ga.) in a second-round match-up Friday at 4:30 p.m. CST.

In the first half, Lindsey Wilson connected on 57.1 percent of its field goal attempts to build a 40-33 lead at the intermission. The Blue Raiders then opened the second half on a 12-2 run to grab its largest lead of the day, 52-35, with 16:04 to play. San Diego Christian chipped away at the deficit and eventually pulled to within 68-63 on two free throws by Rowan Gray with 5:04 on the clock. Lindsey Wilson held on down the stretch and pulled away from the free throw line by hitting 11 consecutive foul shots in the last 44 seconds of play.

Senior forward Stephen Russell led the way with 19 points for Lindsey Wilson, while senior guard Scott Cook and sophomore forward Lloyd Lewis each added 13 points for the Blue Raiders. Cook also dished out a game-high nine assists, while Lewis hauled in six rebounds.

The Hawks were also accurate from the field, hitting 54 percent of their attempts from the floor. Senior guard Tyler Hayes scored a game-high 22 points to lead San Diego Christian. Gray added 15 points while junior guard Drew Sanchez posted 13 points for the Hawks. San Diego Christian finished its 2005-06 season with an overall record of 22-10.