March 16, 2006

Kansas City, Mo. - Four Spring Hill College (Ala.) players scored in double figures as the Badgers pulled away in the second half for an 82-67 victory Thursday against Voorhees College (S.C.) in first-round action at the 69^th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

Senior guard Krisner Green led the way with 22 points, while senior forward Chris Baldwin came off the bench for 16 points as Spring Hill earned its first tournament victory since 2001. The Badgers are now 22-8 overall and will play a second-round game on Friday. Spring Hill will meet either No. 3 seed Robert Morris College (Ill.) or Southern Wesleyan University (S.C.) Friday at 10:45 a.m. CST.

The Badgers started quickly with a 13-3 run in the first seven minutes of play. Voorhees, the No. 14 seed in this year's tournament, battled back to trim the deficit to 18-17 before Spring Hill increased its lead to 30-25 at the half. The Tigers took their first lead of the game, 36-34, on a basket by sophomore guard Antonio Bolton with 15:54 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, Spring Hill took the lead for good at the 12-minute mark and slowly built its lead down the stretch.

Sophomore center Barkley Falkner chipped in with 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds for Spring Hill, while sophomore guard Ugo Ezekwe added 12 points in the effort. Defensively, the Badgers limited Voorhees to just 29.6 percent shooting from the field.

Bolton led all scorers with 26 points for Voorhees. Junior forward Marcele Street posted 23 points and led the Tigers with eight rebounds and six steals. Voorhees closed out its season with an overall record of 26-5.

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