Houston Baptist (Texas) Slides Past Westminster (Utah) in 73-64 Win
March 16, 2006
Kansas City, Mo. - No. 10 seed Houston Baptist University (Texas) edged past Westminster College (Utah) 73-64 Thursday in the first round battle at the 69th Annual Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Tournament. The 32-team, single-elimination tournament runs March 15-21 at Municipal Auditorium.
The Huskies had three men in double figures led by Dwight Jones II with 16 points. Bert Cherrington followed with 14 points and Chad Barnes was close behind with 12 points. Jones II also had a game high of 11 rebounds. Houston Baptist gained the lead early after a slow start. Houston Baptist led by 11 at the half and the Huskies were able to keep control of the game never trailing in the second half.
In the second half Westminster cut the led to five points only to watch the chances of a victory fade away. Jared Ruiz had a game high 17 points followed by Danny Reeder with 12 points. The Griffins finished the game shooting 16-for-37 from the field. Westminster finished the season with a 23-8 record.
Houston Baptist (27-5) advances to a tournament second-round game Friday 6:15 p.m. CST. The Huskies will face either Oklahoma City University or Columbia College (Mo.).
