Big Second Half Carries Concordia University into Second Round
March 18, 2009
Kansas City, Mo. - Concordia University (Calif.) used a big second half to pull away for a 70-55 victory over Oklahoma Christian University in game three of the 2009 Buffalo Funds NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Tournament at Municipal Auditorium early Wednesday afternoon.
The 12th-seeded Eagles, who led 31-28 at halftime behind 11 points from Kingsley Costain, used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to turn a 44-40 lead into the 54-40 advantage with 9:32 remaining in the game. OCU never got closer than 12 points the rest of the game.
Concordia drilled 10 three-pointers in the game, including five from Costain, who finished with a team-high 17 points for the Eagles. The winners turned the ball over just eight times in the game while forcing 19 turnovers by OCU. The Eagles held Oklahoma Christian to 32.1 percent shooting in the second half after they shot 60 percent in the first half. In addition to Costain, Cameron Glidden totaled 13 points and Ben Smith added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Eagles.
Oklahoma Christian got a huge game from Jason Taylor, who tallied 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field. He also grabbed 11 rebounds to lead all players. David Jackson was the only other OCU player in double figures with 12 points. Jeff Crocker added six assists.
Concordia, now 27-6, advances to the second round to play fifth-seeded Mountain State University (W.Va.) on Friday at 10:45 a.m. CDT. Mountain State defeated Louisiana State University-Shreveport 88-76 earlier on Wednesday. Oklahoma Christian ends its season with a 23-10 overall record.
GAME NOTES
Both teams entered the game ranked in the top 10 in NAIA Division I with more than eight three-pointers made per game, but Concordia hit six more three-pointers in this game (10-4) ... Concordia improves to 15-5 all-time in the tournament, including a 5-2 mark in the first round ... Oklahoma Christian falls to 4-9 all-time in the tournament and snaps a streak of three straight first-round victories ... Concordia is just the second 12th seed to advance to the second round in the last six years.
