March 17, 2007

Kansas City, Mo. - Faulkner University (Ala.) built a 16-point halftime lead and never looked back in posting a 76-59 victory against Northwestern Oklahoma State University Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the 2007 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

 

Junior guard Bryant Murray led a balanced attack with 15 points as the Eagles became the only unseeded team to advance to the NAIA Fab Four. Faulkner, now 24-10 overall, will meet No. 2 Oklahoma City University in a national semifinal game Monday at 8 p.m. CDT.

 

This will mark Faulkner's second trip to the NAIA Fab Four. In their only other appearance, the Eagles rolled to the 2001 NAIA Division I national championship, defeating the University of Science and Arts (Okla.) by a score of 63-59.

 

Faulkner shot 57.6 percent (19-of-33) in the first half on its way to a 46-30 lead at the half. A three-pointer by junior forward Brandon Vaughn midway through the period sparked a 13-4 run that gave the Eagles a 27-18 advantage. Faulkner then closed the half on an 11-2 spurt to build its 16-point lead at the break.

 

Senior guard Jammie Evans contributed 14 points off the bench for Faulkner, while sophomore forward Aaron Greenwood notched 12 points in a reserve role for the Eagles. Junior guard Richarde McCray pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for Faulkner, which controlled the boards by a margin of 43-31.

 

Northwestern Oklahoma State finishes its season with a record of 22-12. Eleven different players scored in the contest for the Rangers, including a team-high nine points by senior forward Tramain Davis, senior center Gary Nunez and freshman guard Ricky Burny. Nunez added a team-leading eight rebounds, while Burny had a game-high four steals.