Story by NAIA Office

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box score) No. 4 seed Mid-America Christian (Okla.) raced to a 12-point lead in the first five minutes on the way to an 88-80 victory over No. 1 seed Biola (Calif.) in the second round of the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship. The Evangels will square off with sixth-seeded Cumberlands (Ky.) on Saturday, March 19 at 12:00 p.m. CDT.

Devonse Reed led all scorers with 27 points for Mid-America Christian, connecting on 2 of 3 three-point shots to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Bryon Miller added 21 points, Jerrick Massenburge chipped in 17 points, while Nick Tate recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocked shots.

“We knew Biola was going to be a huge challenge and I thought we came out with a lot of energy and obviously we were making a lot of shots, which makes it easier,” said Mid-America Christian head coach Josh Gamblin. “I thought our guys did a really good job fighting on the boards. (Biola) is so physical and so strong, I thought we scrapped and got on the floor and won some 50/50 balls.”

Reed hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, followed by back-to-back treys by Miller to help the Evangels start the game with an 11-2 spurt. The threes continued to rain down for Mid-America Christian early on as Massenburge hit a pair inside the opening seven minutes for a 24-5 lead.

A third trey of the first half by Massenburge pushed the lead to 31-11 at the 9:44 mark. Biola chipped away over the next six minutes to close within 11, but Reed canned another three with eight seconds before halftime for a 49-30 lead as the Evangels completed the opening stanza hitting 8 of 16 from beyond the arc.

The three-point shots were largely absent for Mid-America Christian after halftime, while Biola was able bounce back from a 9 of 25 first-half shooting clip to work its way back into the game. The Eagles used a pair of 8-0 runs before eventually closing a once 21-point deficit to 69-67 with 6:42 to play.

That was as close as Biola would get as Mid-America Christian scored the next eight points, including another long-range effort from Massenburge, to regain a 10-point advantage and led by never fewer than seven points the rest of the way.

“We had a great season, not only because we won so many games, but because we had such a good spirit and strong relationships,” said Biola head coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. “I’ve been coaching at Biola for 36 years and this was easily one of my favorite teams for many reasons. They have just cared so much all year long. They are just wonderful people who will do well in life. It’s really been a rewarding season.”

Mid-America Christian (25-9) also took care of business at the free throw line, converting 27 of 35 attempts (.771) that included 25 of its first 29 tries. Biola dominated the glass with a 47-30 edge that included 20 offensive rebounds, but only edged out a 19-17 advantage in second chance points.

Dakari Archer led Biola with 22 points and four assists, while Jeff Gonzalez contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds. Caelan Tiongson led the effort on the glass with a game-high 12 rebounds, and Terrell Funches chipped in with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Biola finishes its season with a 30-4 record.

Game notes:
Mid-America Christian – The Evangels improved to 10-6 this season against teams in the National Championship field … Has now advanced to the quarterfinals in both of its two appearances (also advanced in 2015) … Topped 80 points in four of its five tournament games in program history … The team ranks sixth in the NAIA with 90.1 points per game … The Evangels have now won back-to-back games for the first time since winning three-straight from Feb. 4-11 … The Evangels’ 11 three-pointers tied for the most by a Biola opponent this year … Their 26 free throws and .478 three-point clip were second-best by a Biola foe … Reed’s 27 points was a season-high and was the eighth time he eclipsed 20 points this year … Miller surpassed the 20-point mark for the seventh time this year and third game in-a-row … Won despite being outrebounded 32-10 in the second half.

Biola – The Eagles entered the game with the longest winning streak of any team at the tournament, but had their winning streak snapped at 11 games ... Failed to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in their last four appearances … Entered the game leading the NAIA in three defensive categories; scoring defense (59.6), three-point percentage defense (.291), and field goal percentage defense (.376) ... Dakari Archer topped the 20-point mark for the 15th time this season … BU’s 27 free throws were a season high.