Evergreen's Nate Menefee scored on this left-handed drive to end the first half, but No. 8-seeded Embry-Riddle battled back from a 16-point deficit to defeat the Geoducks 80-78 in the first round of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championships.
Evergreen Close But Comes Up Short, 80-78
Boxscore
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- Eighth-seeded Embry-Riddle University rallied to hold off upset-minded The Evergreen State College Wednesday, 80-78, in the first round of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championships.
Evergreen State (19-11) got up by as many as 15 points, 23-8, after jumping out to a 12-0 lead to begin the game. The Geoducks led 48-35 at halftime, and took a 50-35 lead just into the second half. Embry-Riddle then began to cut away at the lead and go on a 26-14 over a 10-minute span.
The Eagles (29-5) tied the game at 70 with a pair of Eric Lorenzi free throws with 4:46 remaining in regulation. The game remained tied until Lorenzi hit another pair of free throws to give ERAU its first lead, 72-70. The game would tie two more times but Embry-Riddle never gave up its lead.
The Eagles’ David Butler led all scorers with 27 points. The junior went 10 for 19 from the field, grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, and threw a game-high four assists. Lorenzi added 22 points, Blake Touchard had 14, and Ray Graham chipped in 13.
Nate Menefee led Evergreen with 26 points. TESC grabbed the 11th and final at-large berth to qualify for the 32-team field. Josh Troyer finished with 15 points, and Julio Feliciano and Anthony Gallagher each added 12.
Embry-Riddle advances to Friday’s second round and awaits the winner of the ninth-seeded Bethel College and Friends match-up.