March 12, 2009

Point Lookout, Mo. - Unseeded Grace College (Ind.) continued the upset trend with an 82-72 come-from-behind win over #13 Warner Pacific (Ore.) in the opening round of the 2009 NAIA D-II men's basketball national championships. The 18th-annual event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

Both teams were making their fourth national tournament appearance and qualified via at-large berths.

Warner Pacific led by as much as eight early on behind the inside/outside duo of Aukai Wong and Adam Moore who scored 14 and 13 points in the opening half respectively. Grace came back to tie the game at 44 by halftime.

The Knights began the second half with a 12-4 run and still led by six (68-62) with eight minutes left to play. Grace clamped down defensively and gave up just four points over the final eight minutes to trigger a decisive 20-4 run to seal the 82-72 win.

Eric Gaff, one of the NAIA's top scorers and nation's leading rebounder, led the Lancers with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. David Swanson also registered the double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Grace shot an impressive 23-of-28 from the foul line and held a 39-32 advantage on the glass.

Warner Pacific placed four players in double figures, led by Adam Moore with 21 points. Kaylone Riley, the Cascade Collegiate Conference defensive player-of-the-year, totaled 15 points, five boards and three assists before fouling out. Aukai Wong scored all of his 14 points in the first half. The Knights shot 44% but made just 1-of-3 free throws for the game. Warner Pacific ends the season with a 21-9 record.

Grace moves on to the second round for the second straight year where they will play Ottawa (Kan.) on Friday at 1:45 p.m. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes March 17, 2009.