POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Unseeded Warner Pacific (Ore.) held off an incredible rally by 11th-seeded Northwestern (Iowa), 94-83 to advance to the second round at the 2011 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. The 2011 event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.).
The Knights (20-10) end a three-game losing streak at the National Tournament, and earned the second straight upset at this year’s tournament. WPC watched a 23-point lead shrink down to five points in a three-minute span during the second half. After a close start to the game, Warner Pacific began to pull away from the Red Raiders midway through the first stanza and had its largest lead of 15 points after a pair of Traevone Bowie three-pointers with a little over four minutes remaining in the first half.
Warner Pacific had a decisive edge on the glass in the first half with a 20-11 rebounding advantage. The Knights finished the half with 11 offensive boards. WPC took a 40-29 lead into the halftime break.
The Knights opened the second half on a 5-0 run and extended it to a 10-2 run with a Josh Black three-pointer with 17:25 remaining in regulation. Webster Moreland continued the run with a bucket and a foul, and gave WPC its largest lead, 63-40, with 12:39 left.
Northwestern then began its run with a 12-0 scoring output. The Red Raiders came as close as five points, 64-59, with a Ryan Hoogeveen free throw at the 9:32 mark of the second half. The 19-1 run was ended with a Biniam Tadele three-pointer. Northwestern closed the gap to 88-83 with 50.9 seconds left in the contest, but the Knights ended the game with made free throws.
The Knights finished with six double-digit scorers led by Sean Gaines’ 22 points. The sophomore finished 9 for 11 from the field. Bowie added 17 points, Moreland had 15, Tadele chipped in 14, and Black and Stephen Harris each had 10. Gaines added nine rebounds and Black threw a team-high four assists.
Warner Pacific ended the game shooting 49 percent from the field after hitting 60 percent of its attempts in the second half. The Knights were 6 of 19 from behind the arc, and 28 of 37 from the free-throw line. WPC outrebounded the Red Raiders, 37-27.
Walker Seim led Northwestern (22-9) with 19 points. Hoogeveen added 18 points, and Daniel Van Kalsbeek had 15. Van Kalsbeek grabbed six rebounds and Mike Vorwald and Hoogeveen each threw three assists. The Red Raiders shot 41 percent from the field, and were held to just eight made shots from the field in the first half. Northwestern was 9 of 24 from behind the arc and 28 for 41 from the free-throw line. The teams combined for 37 turnovers and 53 personal fouls.
Warner Pacific advances to Friday's second round and will play unseeded McPherson (Kan.) for a berth into the national quarterfinals. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes March 15, 2011.