By Eric Montgomery | NAIA Media Relations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box Score) Second-seeded Talladega (Ala.) cruised to a 79-70 victory over Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) Friday afternoon in the second round of the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship. The Tornadoes led for over 37 minutes and stretched their advantage to as many as 21 in the second half. Talladega will meet up with No. 7 Pikeville (Ky.) on Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT in the quarterfinal round.

“We were a tale of two different teams from yesterday,” said Talladega Head Coach Matt Cross. “We did a complete 180 and I’m proud of our guys for sticking to the game plan and executing it to perfection.

“We didn’t want Our Lady of the Lake to be able to trap us and play their style of game. We wanted to keep it to a half-court game and we did. We are a very versatile team and if we can get everybody healthy going into tomorrow I think we’re going to be a tough out. Pikeville is a very good team and I look forward to the match up. It’s going to be a great game.”

A team to hit right at its season shooting percentage on the year (.498), Talladega knocked down 26-of-52 (.500) overall to counter 20 turnovers. The Tornadoes entered the game No. 4 in the NAIA in shooting accuracy.

After getting down early by a 4-1 count, the tandem of Talladega’s Brandon Peters and Jamarqus Jones took over offensively. Behind a mix of jumpers and 3-pointers, the duo combined for 18 points in a span of nearly nine minutes. After that outburst, the Tornadoes led 21-8 with nine minutes left in the first half.

Our Lady of the Lake whittled the lead down to eight, but Talladega scored the last five points of the first half. The Tornadoes led 39-25 at intermission.

Talladega maintained a double-digit lead until the final minute. Three different players for Our Lady of the Lake nailed four triples in the game’s final minute to end the contest with a 79-70 score.

For Talladega, Peters finished with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He also posted five rebounds and five steals. Jones came away with 17 points and Charles Winborne posted 11 points.

De’Quentin Greer recorded 20 points in his final game as a Saint. His eight rebounds tied with Terence Berry for the team lead. Daniel Skinner chipped in 14 points and Darion Brown had 10.

The Saints shot just 38.2 percent (26-of-68) from the floor.

Our Lady of the Lake ends the year with a 25-6 overall. The Saints now hold a 2-2 all-time mark in their second championship trip.

Game Notes:
Our Lady of the Lake: The 25 first half points is the lowest first-half point total of the season and the 70 total points was the third lowest of the season...The Saints posted the highest single-game point total of any team in this year's tournament, beating Huston-Tillotson (Texas), 142-108, on Feb. 17...Our Lady of the Lake is the only school that begins with a possessive pronoun to play in the national tournament...Tremondre Anderson scored a career-high 14 points...Brown had a season-high eight turnovers....De'Quentin Greer scored in double-figures for the 23rd time this season...Eight total steals was the second-lowest total in a game this season.

Talladega: Talladega has won 26 of their last 27 games, including a streak of five-straight… Out of three schools from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, Talladega is the only team to advance from the first round…The Tornadoes were ranked each week in the NAIA Division I Top 25 poll, reaching as high as No. 1 for three weeks and never falling below sixth… Talladega is now 3-2 all time in the championship and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in school history… Senior guard Brandon Peters led the Tornadoes with 22 points and has scored at least 20 points in 15 games this season – Peters leads the team in points, assists and steals on the season.