March 16, 2006

Kansas City, Mo. - No. 8 seed Oklahoma Baptist University shot nearly 60 percent from the field on its way to an 86-70 victory Thursday against the University of Illinois-Springfield in the first round of the 69^th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

Senior forward Frank Benson led five Bison players scoring in double figures with 21 points, including 12 in the second half. Junior center Justin Benson scored 15 points in a reserve role, while junior forward Julius Herd collected 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Oklahoma Baptist made 37 of its 62 field goals attempts (59.7 percent) in the contest. The Bison led 40-34 at the half, then pulled away by shooting 61 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes.

The win helped Oklahoma Baptist earn their ninth consecutive trip to the second round of the NAIA national tournament. The Bison, now 28-6 overall, will face No. 9 seed Georgetown College or unseeded Vanguard University Friday at 9:45 p.m. CST.

Oklahoma Baptist also collected its 42^nd tournament victory, which is third in NAIA history. The Bison trail only Central Washington University (46 wins) and Georgetown College (45 wins). Eighteen of Oklahoma Baptist's tournament victories have come in the last decade.

Illinois-Springfield, which was making its first-ever trip to the NAIA national championship, closed its season with an overall record of 20-13. Senior forward Curtis Collins posted 12 of his team-high 14 points in the second half. Freshman guard Kelvin Johnson connected for 12 points and handed out six assists for the Prairie Stars.