March 16, 2009

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan made 14 three-pointers to shoot past #5 Black Hills State (S.D.) 85-72 to in the semifinals and advance to its first ever championship game. The 18th annual event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

Both teams were playing in their first Final Four and came in on impressive win streaks (16 for Oklahoma Wesleyan and Black Hills State 15).The lead switched hands several times early on but after a Mike McNeil three-pointer, the top-seeded Eagles held a 14-11 advantage. Black Hills State followed with an 11-2 run and after a three-pointer by Clay Pottorff, the Yellow Jackets opened up its largest lead of the game (28-21).

Trailing by five (36-31), Steve Briggs scored 11 straight points for OWU to trigger an 11-2 run to put the Eagles back up by four. A McNeil three-pointer put the score at 45-42 but Black Hills State scored the final four points of the half, all by sophomore Luke Enos, to give the Yellow Jackets the lead at the half, 46-45. Enos led BHSU with 14 first half points while McNeil led Oklahoma Wesleyan with 16, going 4-for-4 from the three-point line. Briggs added 15 for the Eagles in the first half.

Oklahoma Wesleyan outscored Black Hills State 14-2 to open up an 11-point lead, 59-48. Both teams went cold from the field over a four minute stretch but the Yellow Jackets fought back to cut to five (62-57) after a basket by Pottorff with eight minutes left. A basket by Sadiel Rojas and three straight three-pointers, two by Briggs and one by McNeil, gave Oklahoma Wesleyan a commanding 73-61 lead. Black Hills State made one last charge and was able to cut it to six with 2:30 left but would not get any closer as OKU closed the game with a 10-3 run to clinch it.

Both teams shot very well in the first half but cooled off considerably in the second. Oklahoma Wesleyan shot 44% from the field but 50% from beyond the arc (14/28), three shy of the tournament record (17). Steve Briggs scored a game-high 33 points and now has 120 points in four games at the tournament. He made 6-of-11 three-pointers to give him 21 three-pointers for the tournament, one shy of the tournament record. McNeil finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, making 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Sadiel Rojas added 12 points and nine boards.

After shooting 55% in the first half, Black Hills State shot just 26% in the second half, going 2-of-14 from beyond the arc. They shot 40% for the game. Luke Enos and Clay Pottorff scored 16 points each to lead the Yellow Jackets. Will Johnson and Cain Atkinson added 10 points each. Black Hills State closes the season with a 30-5 record.

Oklahoma Wesleyan improves to 34-2 on the season and advances to its first ever championship game. They will play either #2 Bethel (Ind.) or College of the Ozarks (Mo.) tomorrow night at 8:50 p.m. The final will be televised live on CBS College Sports.