MidAmerica Nazarene Lands Final Spot in Fab Four with Win Over No. 7 McKendree
Mar 21, 2009
March 21, 2009
Kansas City, Mo. - The Fab Four of the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship is now set as MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) fills the final slot with a 59-55 victory Saturday over seventh-seeded McKendree (Ill.) at Municipal Auditorium.
MidAmerica Nazarene, in their first year as a Division I program, improves to 29-7 overall and will make its first national semifinal appearance on Monday. The Pioneers will take on Columbia (Mo.) with tip-off scheduled for 8:50 p.m. CDT.
Danny Hawkins scored 11 of his team-leading 19 points in the second half to pace MidAmerica. Hawkins also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
MidAmerica, which trailed 30-27 at the half, began the second half on an 18-8 run to take a 45-38 lead. They would remain in front the rest of the game.
McKendree's Eric Palm, who scored 15 first half points, was held scoreless in the second until knocking down a three at the 2:05 mark. He would hit two more to make it a one possession game. Palm finished with a game-high 24 points, his 26th consecutive game in double figures.
McKendree closes out their season with an overall record of 30-6.
- NAIA -
GAME NOTES -
McKendree's Eric Palm scored 11 straight points to give his team a 20-17 lead at the 8:24 mark of the first half. He stood with 15 points at intermission. He now has gone for 10 or more points in 26 straight games...the largest lead of the first half was McKendree by four points. There were 11 lead changes...MidAmerica Nazarene went on a 18-8 run to start the second half erasing a three-point halftime hole to take a 45-38 lead...after going 5-for-9 in the first half for 15 points, McKendree's Eric Palm started the second half 0-for-6 from the floor. His first point of the second stanza came on a 3-pointer around the 2:00 minute mark. He finished with a game-high 24 points...Danny Hawkins compiled his 14th straight game over 10 points. He also grabbed 17 rebounds to hit for his 11th double-double during that same stretch of games...the unseeded Pioneers have now taken down the No. 2, No. 7 and No. 15 seeds. The Pioneers appeared in 13 NAIA Division II Championships and own the 2007 Championship crown.
