March 16, 2007

Kansas City, Mo. - Oklahoma City University connected on 58.6 percent of its field goal attempts on the way to a 90-78 victory Friday against the University of Illinois at Springfield in second-round play at the 2007 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at historic Municipal Auditorium.

 

The second-seeded Stars shot 62.1 percent in the first half to build a 45-36 lead at the break and took control in the second half to earn their second straight trip to the national quarterfinals. Oklahoma City pushes its record to 32-2 on the year and will play in a 6 p.m. CDT quarterfinal round contest on Saturday against either Park University (Mo.) or Azusa Pacific University (Calif.).

 

Junior forward Willie Irick came off the bench to score a team-high 23 points for Oklahoma City. Senior guard Nick Covington connected for 19 points, while senior forward Duane John notched 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

 

Illinois-Springfield, the No. 15 team in the tournament, grabbed a 29-26 lead on a three-pointer by junior forward Aaron Leonard with 12:13 to play in the opening half. Oklahoma City countered by scoring the next seven points to take the lead for good, and the Stars extended the margin to 45-36 at the intermission. Oklahoma City then took control with a 12-0 run to take a 64-42 lead with 13:03 to play. Irick had seven points during the spurt for the Stars.

 

Senior guard Eddie Smith led Illinois-Springfield with a game-high 27 points, including 16 in the second half. Leonard came off the bench to contribute 16 points, while senior guard Cory Farmer collected 14 points for the Prairie Stars. Illinois-Springfield's 11-game win streak was snapped with the loss. The Prairie Stars closed with a record of 23-8 and set a school record for wins in a season.