By Chad Waller, Communications and Sports Information Director

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box score) No. 6 seed Campbellsville (Ky.) opened the second day of the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship with a 91-88 first round win over sixth-seeded Texas Wesleyan. The Tigers will face the winner of No. 2-seeded Hope International (Calif.) and No. 7-seeded Dillard (La.) on Friday, March 18 at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan led five Campbellsville players in double figures with 22 points, hitting nine of 13 field goals from the field, to go along with six rebounds and three blocked shots. Sekou Harris added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Rob Robinson (16 points), Ron Scott (15) and Hagen Tyler (11) each reached double digits.

“We play a lot of games that have runs in them,” said Campbellsville head coach Keith Adkins. “We make our runs, then the opponent makes their own run. It goes back and forth like it did today. It has come down to who gets the ball last or who makes that last run late in the game. We were able to do that today and this was a great team win.”

Allen-Jordan provided the 19th and final lead change of the game with 45 seconds remaining to put the Tigers in front, 87-86, after Jerell Ellis gave the Rams an 86-85 advantage on a three-pointer with 1:04 remaining. The teams traded the lead nine times in the second half and three times in the last two minutes, after the game was even at 83-83.

Campbellsville (23-10) seized the early advantage in the game, claiming a 26-14 lead less than eight minutes into the contest, with Allen-Jordan and Tyler each claiming a pair of buckets in a 10-2 run over 1:57. However, Texas Wesleyan flipped the game over the next nine minutes with a 31-12 scoring stretch for a seven-point advantage before taking a one-point halftime lead.

The second half saw the script reverse from the first as Texas Wesleyan enjoyed a double-digit advantage inside the first 5:00 of the second stanza, only for Campbellsville to answer with eight-straight points and tie the game with 6:59 to play. There would be three more ties down the stretch prior to the final sequence of events.

The Tigers shot 56.1 percent from the field (32-of-57) with 13 of those made baskets coming from beyond the arc. The Rams shot just under 50 percent (37 of 76) and committed only seven turnovers, but made only six three-point shots and were outshot at the free throw line, 14-8.

"We just didn’t make enough plays defensively today,” said Texas Wesleyan head coach Brennen Shingleton. “We had some breakdowns at the wrong time and just didn’t defend well enough to win a tournament game. I’m proud of our seniors. They fought and competed, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Jerell Ellis scored a game-high 23 points to lead the way for Texas Wesleyan, while Sam Akano added 21 points and five rebounds off the bench. BJ Batts also came off the bench to pour in 14 points for the Rams, and Trevon Jeffery contributed 13 points and five rebounds.

Texas Wesleyan finishes its season with a 24-8 record.

Game notes:
Campbellsville – The Tigers’ 11 appearances at the National Championships are third-most for a team from Kentucky...Campbellsville is now 2-0 against teams from the state of Texas at the National Championship ... Improves to 2-6 in games decided by three points or less this season ...The Tigers advanced to the second round for the second-straight year and fifth time under Head Coach Keith Adkins ... Allen-Jordan has scored 20 or more points in four straight games and 13 contests overall this season ... Rob Robinson finished with a season-high five three-point field goals and has scored in double-figures in six of the past eight games.

Texas Wesleyan – Rams playing in first championship since 2012 and 13th overall – lost its third-straight First Round contest…. Entered the contest ranked No. 3 in offensive rebounds per game (15.6), total rebounds per game (44.5) and total rebound margin (10.4). … First game the team scored more than 70 points since a 106-76 win over St. Gregory’s (Okla.) on Feb. 18. … Most points scored in a loss this season. Previous high was in an 89-82 loss to Wiley (Texas) on Nov. 23 … Jarell Ellis scored a game-high 23 points to finish with 20 or more points for the 12th time in 31 games.