POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Ninth-seeded Indiana Wesleyan advanced to its fourth consecutive national quarterfinals with an 84-63 victory over eighth-seeded Oregon Tech 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 Wildcats (28-7) improve to 4-0 all-time in the second round, while OIT has lost three straight second round games.
Oregon Tech’s only lead came three minutes into the game when it led, 6-5. Indiana Wesleyan then began to pull away with an 11-0 run from the 16:41 to 14:50 mark in the first half. The Owls responded by closing a 10-point gap to 17-14 with 12:54 left in the first stanza.
IWU answered with an 8-0 run to take a 25-14 lead at the 10:17 mark. The Wildcats had their largest lead of the first half, 35-22, after a basket from Jordan Weidner with 5:56 to play. Indiana Wesleyan led at half, 42-30.
The Wildcats opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 21-point lead. IWU would have its largest lead of 24 points moments later.
Indiana Wesleyan was led by George Jones IV who finished with 18 points on 8 for 8 shooting from the field. Patrick Hopkins finished with 17 points, Derrick Troyer and Aaron Martin each had 13, and Weidner scored 10. Hopkins added nine rebounds and three assists. IWU shot 53 percent from the field, 26 percent from behind the arc, and 57 percent from the free-throw line.
The Wildcats outrebounded OIT, 49-32, and had a 52-12 advantage of points in the paint. Oregon Tech finished 32 percent from the field, 8 of 27 from three-point range, and 15 for 23 from the free-throw line. Joseph Foster ended his collegiate career with a 28-point, seven rebound performance.
Indiana Wesleyan advances to Saturday's quarterfinals and will play the winner of top-seeded Walsh and College of the Ozarks. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes March 15, 2011.