By Eric Montgomery, NAIA Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Box Scores) – (Box Score) No. 8-seeded Martin Methodist (Tenn.) wrapped up the opening day of the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship in Municipal Auditorium with a 74-56 win over SAGU (Texas) on Wednesday evening. The RedHawks advance to the second round to take on Cumberlands (Ky.), a 55-47 winner over ninth-seeded LSU Alexandria (La.), on Friday, March 20 at 4:30 p.m.

Monte Burney tallied 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the way for Martin Methodist, while Darius Forest chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds. Darius Woods added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists for the RedHawks, while Josh Watson grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with eight points and six assists.

“It felt good for our guys to come back to Kansas City and pick up an early win,” said Martin Methodist head coach Scott Combs. “I thought our guys executed very well and was especially pleased with the effort of (Josh) Watson. He had a huge game in virtually every category and really helped pace our guys.”

Burney finished off the first half with a three-pointer, one of three long-range connections in the game, to give Martin Methodist a 33-28 halftime advantage. The RedHawks shot 88 in the first half

SAGU kept the game close through most of the second half, closing within one on a three-pointer by Emmanuel Adoyi with 9:10 remaining. That was as close as the Lions would get, however, as the RedHawks clamped down on the defensive end. The Lions recorded just three field goals following the three-pointer by Adoyi and finished the game 22 of 70 from the field (.314).

“We had planned on using our zone a little more, but they had a great plan against out zone,” said Benedictine head coach Ryan Moody. “They were able to knock down a few threes and then we worry about the three-point line and we weren’t able to help as much against McCall. It kind of game him free reign and he’s really a special player.”

Martin Methodist (29-4) shot 42.6 percent from the field (26 of 61), but enjoyed a 16-6 margin in made free throws despite both teams shooting under 30.0 percent from three-point range. Both teams committed just nine turnovers with the RedHawks posting a 11-8 edge in points off turnovers.

Rishaad Alexander recorded 14 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Lions, while Jonathan Walter tallied 12 points and seven rebounds. Adoyi and Jason Gentry each added 10 points and combined for 15 rebounds, though the Lions were outrebounded, 47-39, and got just four points from the bench.

SAGU finishes its season with a record of 22-11.

Game Notes:
Martin Methodist – The RedHawks were victorious in the first round of the national championship for the fourth-straight appearance (2011, 2012, 2013) and improved to 6-3 all-time in tournament openers … Martin Methodist ran its current winning streak to eight games with four of those including a double-digit margin of victory … Watson posted a career-high rebounding total, besting his previous high of 14 set against Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) on March 2, 2013.

SAGU – The Lions lost in the first round for the second-straight appearance in the national championship (2014) to slip to 1-3 all-time in the event, winning its only tournament opener in 2013 on the way to the championship game … The 56 points were a season-low for SAGU since dropping a 67-51 decision to St. Thomas-Houston (Texas) on March 4, 2013 … Walter finished his four-year career at SAGU with 1,439 points, 716 rebounds, 219 assists and 187 steals over 134 games played.