March 16, 2007

Kansas City, Mo. - Northwestern Oklahoma survived two attempts at the foul line by Xavier (La.) sophomore Shaun Dumas, holding on to win 58-57 over the Gold Rush in the second round of the 2007 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championship at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

 

With three seconds left in the game and Xavier down 58-56, Dumas was fouled by Northwestern's Matt Thomas, putting the sophomore at the line for two attempts. Dumas hit the first foul shot to pull within one, but his second attempt misfired and the half ended as the ball was batted into the air and time expired.

 

In a low-scoring first half, Northwestern Oklahoma took a five-point lead when Shane Hansen netted two points to make the score 17-12 at the 5:51 mark, and the two teams would combine for 14 more points over the half's remaining minutes, sending the Rangers to the break up 24-19.

 

Xavier fell behind by seven out of the break as Tramain Davis knocked down a jumper with 18:59 to play, but the Gold Rush got the next five points to cut the lead to two with 17:40 to go. Xavier managed to keep within striking distance over the next two minutes by trading scores with the Rangers, but after Xavier pulled back within two at 28-26, Northwestern Oklahoma went on an 8-0 run, sparked by back-to-back 3-point baskets from Hansen and Gary Nunez.

 

Hansen would knock down another three two possessions later to answer Xavier, who ended the run with a three of its own, but the Gold Rush made another dash at Northwestern Oklahoma, scoring the next eight points to slash the lead to 39-37 with 10:52 to go.

 

Dumas knocked down a Gold Rush three with 5:15 to play, tying the game at 48-all, beginning a 10-0 Xavier run that saw the Gold Rush go up 55-48 with 3:31 remaining on an Alfred Williams jumper. Seven-straight Northwestern Oklahoma points would tie the game at 55-55 entering the game's final two minutes, and Nunez grabbed Northwestern's final lead of the game with 53 seconds left on a pair of free throws that followed a foul whistled on Williams.

 

Nunez led Northwestern Oklahoma with a double-double 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Davis also found double-digits with 10 points in the game. Dumas led all scorers with 24 points for the Gold Rush, while Mark Stewart put together 20 points and Williams had 11 rebounds on the night.

 

Xavier ends its season with a final mark of 22-10, while Northwestern Oklahoma improves to 22-11 and will meet the winner of McKendree and Faulkner in Saturday's quarterfinal round.