March 18, 2010

3.18.10 - Oakland City, Ind.- Third seeded Mid-America Christian University couldn't find a rhythm in the first half of the NCCAA Division I Tournament. Although they out-scored sixth seeded Northwestern College in the second half it wasn't enough for the win, falling 70-61 on Thursday afternoon at the Johnson Center on the campus of Oakland City University.

The Evangels opened the first half slow, trailing throughout the first 20 minutes of play. NC came out strong taking a 7-0 advantage with 18:47 to play. They built a 22-point lead going into intermission (36-14); Robbie Anderson capped off a 9-2 run with a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Evangels were 0-12 from behind the arc and shot 23 percent from the floor in the first half with no free throw attempts.

MACU chipped away at the Eagles led throughout the second half bringing it down to single digits with five minutes to play. Trailing 51-37 Josh Ball stole the ball and Corey Raney hit a jumper to make it 51-42.

With 2:26 on the clock MACU cut the lead to six points (59-53) with a three pointer by Brandon Williams. The Eagles went on to out-score the Evangels 11-2 in the final two minutes of play. Nine of NC's final 11 points were made free throws. MACU's lone bucket was made by Nathan Pratt with 50 seconds to play (66-57).

MACU out-scored the Eagles in the second half 47-34 but couldn't overcome the first half deficit. The Evangels won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding the Eagles 40-35.

Brandon Williams led the Evangels in scoring with 17 points. Nathan Pratt was the only other double-digit contributor with 12 points.

MACU improved on offence in the second half, shooting 40 percent from the field and 44 percent from the free throw line. They shot 25 percent from three-point range.

MACU (19-16) moves to the consolation bracket taking on the seventh seed Geneva College at 1 p.m.

With the upset Northwestern (20-7) advances to the semifinals, battling second seeded Mid-Continent University.

Tournament Schedule:

TodayGame 1 - #2 Mid-Continent University 79 vs #7 Geneva College 57.
Game 2 - #3 Mid-America Christian 61 vs #6 Northwestern College 70.
Game 3 - #1 King College 72 vs #8 Palm Beach Atlantic University 59.Game 4 - #4 Grace College 84 vs #5 Oakland City University 77 OT.



Friday
1:00pm Game 5 - #7 Geneva College vs #3 Mid-America Christian University
3:00pm Game 6 - #8 Palm Beach Atlantic University vs #5 Oakland City University
5:00pm Game 7 - #2 Mid-Continent University vs #6 Northwestern College7:00pm Game 8 - #1 King College vs #4 Grace College



Saturday
2:00pm 7th Place Game - Loser Game 5 vs Loser Game 6
4:00pm 5th Place Game - Winner Game 5 vs Winner Game 6
6:00pm 3rd Place Game - Loser Game 7 vs Loser Game 88:00pm Championship - Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 8