Story by NAIA Office

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box score) No. 1 seed Georgetown (Ky.) dominated the second half of its quarterfinal round game at the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship to earn a 99-80 win over No. 3-seeded William Penn (Iowa).

Georgetown (31-3) advances to the Fab Four for the second time in the last three National Championship events and will take on the winner of No. 3-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 5-seeded Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) on Monday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. CDT

Noah Cottrill scored 23 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, making 4 of 7 three-point shots after intermission, to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Tony Kimbro came close to a triple-double before finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Deondre McWhorter tallied 21 points and five rebounds.

The Tigers dominated the second half, outscoring the Statesmen, 59-38, and shooting 52.9 percent (18 of 34) after intermission while holding William Penn to an 11 of 38 shooting clip (.289). The Tigers doubled the Statesmen in fast break points (16 to 8) and also poured in 46 points in the paint to 38 for William Penn.

“We talked about sticking together at the halftime. The game was tied and we knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” said Georgetown head coach Chris Briggs. “We just wanted to keep working, take advantage of what they gave us and get going. That’s some of the best basketball we played this year.”

The Statesmen had the advantage early in the first half before the teams went back and forth and the teams settled for a 41-41 deadlock. A three-pointer by Jarvis Haywood gave William Penn an early 9-2 lead, but Georgetown scored the next six points and took its first lead at the 12:38 mark on a three-pointer by Raymond Baldwin.

After six ties and nine lead changes in the first half, the Tigers came storming out of the break and immediately set the tone for the second half. McWhorter scored the first seven points of the second stanza before Cottrill added five-straight to complete a 14-2 run to give the Tigers a 55-43 lead. The trio of 20-point scorers for the Tigers provided all of the offense in a 9-1 run not soon after to claim a 66-49 advantage and the Georgetown lead remained in double digits the rest of the way.

“I do not mind losing to Georgetown; they are a tremendous program with great history,” said William Penn head coach John Henry. “This was a great year and we have so much to be proud of. That was the most distraught locker room I have ever been in, but hopefully everyone, including all of these seniors, realizes what they accomplished and someday appreciates the legacy they left here.”

Brady Burford led five William Penn players in double figures with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Kevin Smith tallied 13 points. Jessie Pernell and Jarvis Haywood scored 12 points apiece and combined for nine rebounds, and Steven Roundtree provided 11 points and nine rebounds.

William Penn finishes its season with a 29-7 record.

Game Notes
Georgetown - Making 17th appearance in championship quarterfinals, which marks the most appearances in NAIA history… Twenty-fifth straight national championship appearance…Advances to the semifinals with most wins in the championship with 64… Noah Cottrill scored his third double-digit game in a row with 26 points… The Tigers went 34-for-71 from the field and 8-for-22 from behind the arc, four of those coming at the end of the second half from Cottrill.

William Penn – Wrapped up its first-ever championship appearance in NAIA Division I – previously was affiliated with NAIA Division II… Had its eight-game winning streak snapped tonight… Entered the game No. 5 in scoring offense (90.4), and had its lowest scoring output since Feb. 17… Brady Burford led the club in scoring tonight (20) and for the tournament – in three games, he finished with 56 points for an average of 18.7… Ended his year by scoring at least 10 points in 24-straight games.