Findlay Wins Battle of Undefeateds; Moves on to D-II Semifinals
Release courtesy of the American International College Sports Information Department
FINDLAY 89, C.W. POST 79 (OVERTIME)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass
– Top-ranked Findlay outscored second-ranked C.W.
Post 12-2 in overtime and rallied from an 11 point, late first half
deficit to chalk up an 89-79 victory in a quarterfinal game
featuring the lone remaining undefeated NCAA Division II teams at
the MassMutual Center tonight.
The Oilers (34-0) shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) from the floor and
outscored the Pioneers (30-1) 14-3 at the foul line to set up their
date with Central Missouri (30-4) in tomorrow’s national
semifinal game. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm. The Mules
advanced with an 86-77 quarterfinal victory against Gannon.
Senior center Lee Roberts finished 10-for-13 from the floor on the
way to a game-high 23 points for the Oilers, who had five players
in double-figures scoring. Junior guard Marcus Parker had 19 points
to go with five assists and senior forward Josh Bostic finished
with 18 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, senior guard Tyler
Evans and senior forward Morgan Lewis added 12 and 11 points
respectively.
“C.W. Post has tremendous quickness with the four guards
they play. We thought we could create some mismatches and what got
us going was our ability to free up Roberts inside,” said
Findlay head coach Ron Niekamp.
“In all fairness, we got the looks and just didn’t
make them. When you live by the three, you die by the three,”
added C.W. Post head Tim Cluess, whose team took 37 of its 68 shots
from beyond arc.
The Pioneers were paced by senior guards Kevin Spann and Jonathan
Schmidt who scored 20 and 17 points respectively. Another senior
guard in Kenny Burkes and junior guard Lyndon Daniel added 11 and
10 respectively. Burkes and Spann also had seven assists
apiece.
C.W. Post held a lead that swung between two and five points
throughout the opening 14 minutes of the second half, before
Roberts scored six consecutive points to put Findlay ahead by four,
73-69, with 3:15 remaining. However, Burkes canned a pair of free
throws and Schmidt converted a layup that tied the game for the
fourth time, 73-73, with 1:15 left in regulation.
Roberts then finished a three-point play to apparently put Findlay
in driver’s seat, 76-74, with 45 ticks left. After C.W. Post
came up empty, senior forward Morgan Lewis went 1-for-2 from the
stripe to further make it a three-point affair with 31 seconds
left.
However, C.W Post was not ready to draw the curtain on its
outstanding season. It was Burkes who set the stage for an encore
by draining a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner with 20
seconds to go. Findlay advanced the ball up the court, but
Roberts’ 10-foot turnaround jumper in the paint fell off the
front rim and an extra-session ensued.
