March 18, 2006

Kansas City, Mo. - Oklahoma Baptist University slipped past Georgetown College (Ky.) for an 80-71 win Friday in the second round of the 2006 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

The Bison avenged their 87-75 second-round loss from a year ago against the Tigers to round out Saturday's quarterfinal pairings. No. 8 seed Oklahoma Baptist, which is now 29-6 overall, will meet unseeded Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) at 8 p.m. CST. The Tigers eliminated top-seeded Mountain State University (W.Va.) 75-63 earlier Friday evening.

Senior forward Frank Benson scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the first half to lead the way for Oklahoma Baptist. He also grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds. Junior forward Julius Hird chipped in with 19 points for the Bison, while junior center Justin Benson added 13 points off the bench.

Georgetown held an early lead before Oklahoma Baptist stormed back with 10 consecutive points to grab a 17-13 lead. The Bison extended the margin to 41-26 at the half, which was their largest lead of the period. Oklahoma Baptist then stretched its lead to 19 points early in the second half before Georgetown made a run of its own. A basket and free throw by junior forward Mark Surgalski capped a 12-2 spurt to bring the Tigers within 55-47 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

That was the closest Georgetown would come as Oklahoma Baptist held on down the stretch for the victory. For the game, the Bison shot 56 percent from the field.

Junior guard Brian Silverhorn led Georgetown with 18 points, while junior guard Craig Schoen added 13 points for the Tigers. Junior guard Robert Cox connected for 12 points as Georgetown wrapped up its season with an overall record of 26-8.

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