Story by NAIA Office

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box score) No. 4 seed Mid-America Christian (Okla.) claimed the first spot in the semifinal round of the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship with a 77-73 win over No. 6-seeded Cumberlands (Ky.).

Playing in just its second-ever National Championship, Mid-America Christian (27-9) advances to its first-ever Fab Four to be played on Monday, March 21 against the winner of Campbellsville (Ky.) and Carroll (Mont.) at 6:00 p.m. CDT

Devonse Reed was the difference for the Evangels for the second-straight game, scoring five-straight points to break a 64-64 tie with 5:20 to play. Reed hit a three-pointer at the 4:28 mark, and converted a putback on the next trip down after a miss by Nick Tate.

“Devonse Reed stepped up and made a couple of late shot-clock possessions for us, and it seemed like on the offensive end both teams were really guarding well,” said Mid-America Christian head coach Josh Gamblin. “It was a grind effort by both groups and our group just made a couple more plays down the stretch.”

Trailing by six after two free throws by Tate with 1:19 to play, Cumberlands got four points and a steal by D’Lando Carter to pull within 71-69 with 31 seconds to play. The teams traded free throws to keep it a two-point game, but Carter was stripped of the ball driving to the basket, allowing the Evangels to make it a two-possession game. Mid-America Christian put the game away at the line, hitting two pairs of freebies in the final 10 seconds.

There was little to separate the two teams after the opening 20 minutes of play with Mid-America Christian taking a 36-33 lead into the break. Bryon Miller canned a trey with 1:39 to provide the halftime margin after the teams traded the lead six times and were tied on three occasions.

Mid-America Christian finished the game shooting 46.6 percent (27 of 58) from the field and hit 18 of 23 free throws, eight more than its opponent. Cumberlands hit nine three-point shots on 25 attempts (.360) while limiting the Evangels to 5 of 14 from beyond the arc.

“MidAmerica Christian is very good,” said Cumberlands head coach Don Butcher. “They are the most difficult team we’ve had to defend all year and that might have been the best defense we’ve played all year and they still scored 77 points. We can’t guard any harder or any better. They are a very talented team and their coach does an excellent job. I think they brought out our best and we brought out our best.”

Miller and Reed each had 17 points to lead the way for Mid-America Christian, with Miller grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Chris Runnels chipped in with 15 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Malcolm Mann added 13 points and five rebounds for the Evangels.

Carter and Xavier Owens shared game-high scoring honors with 20 points for the Patriots, with Owens posting a double-double with 10 rebounds. The duo also combined to dish out nine assists and tallied two steals apiece. Tre Boutilier also added 14 points and six rebounds.

Cumberlands finishes its season with a 25-12 record.

Game Notes
Mid-America Christian - Making its second-ever appearance in national championship quarterfinal action…Lost to Westmont (Calif.), 78-66, in 2015 quarterfinals...On its way to first semifinal appearance in program history… Byron Miller is sixth in total points at the championship scoring a game-high 26 points against Park (Mo.) in the first round...Miller earned his third double-double on the season.

Cumberlands – Making its 11th appearance in National Championship quarterfinal action…Lost in second round last year to Martin Methodist (Tenn.), 73-59…Averaged 74.8 at the end of the regular season, so far has surpassed average by eight points throughout championship… Temjae Singleton is tied for third in total points at the tournament, scoring 29 against Talladega (Ala.), March 18… Xavier Owens led his team with 20 points and 10 rebounds, earning his fourth double-double on the season.