Story Eric Montgomery, NAIA Media Coordinator

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box Score) No. 3-seeded Life (Ga.) opened the 2017 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship with a 71-62 victory over sixth-seeded Martin Methodist (Tenn.), Wednesday morning at Municipal Auditorium.

Dalarian Williams scored a game-high 31 points for the Eagles (23-10), connecting on 12 of 20 field goals to go along with nine rebounds and a career-high five steals. Jonathan Beausejour chipped in with 15 points and a game-best 17 rebounds, while Zach Landis tallied seven points, nine rebounds and five assists.

“Survive and advance, those are my thoughts,” said Life head coach Keith Adkins. “I think it’s the hardest game to play, playing the first game of the tournament and any morning-session game. But the opportunity to get almost 48 hours to rest, the opportunity to regroup and get some guys straight, the opportunity to practice and get shots up, to scout our next opponent and know what to do, those things help.”

Trailing 41-31 at the 17:14 mark of the second half, a conventional three-point play by Williams completed a 14-4 run to tie the teams at the 10:48 mark. He followed that up with a steal and lay-up 13 seconds later for the Eagles’ first lead of the second half.

Life pushed the lead to as much as six before Martin Methodist knotted the score on two occasions, the last coming with 3:18 to play on a bucket by Caleb Choway. However, Courtney Warren answered with a three-pointer as the Eagles led by as much as 11 down the stretch thanks to a perfect 6 for 6 mark at the free throw line.

Though the Eagles struggled from three-point range with a 3 for 19 mark (.158), the team shot 45.2 percent (14 of 31) from the field in the second half and posted a 45-37 rebounding advantage. The Eagles also scored 15 points off 11 RedHawks turnovers and used 11 offensive rebounds for a 10-5 edge in second chance points.

“You have to tip your cap to Life and their guys,” said Martin Methodist head coach Scott Combs. We gave them a pretty good shot there in the second half, and they weathered the storm and responded well. I hate to see our guys suffer a loss after such a solid season.”

Albert Lynch led the way for Martin Methodist with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Broderick Davis recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Chowbay finished with 12 points.

Martin Methodist finished its season with a record of 22-11.

Game Notes:
Life – The Eagles improved to 8-8 in first round games, winning its first opening round contest since the 2000 national championship … Williams recorded his sixth 30-point game of the season … Keith Adkins qualified for the national championship in his first season as head coach, while also reaching the Fab Four last season with Campbellsville (Ky.) … The double-double for Beausejour was his first of the season … The 17 rebounds was the most in the national championship since Korry Tillery of Evangel (Mo.) tallied 20 on March 18, 2015.

Martin Methodist – The RedHawks had won four-straight first round contests prior to this season’s loss, last failing to advance in the 2008 national championship … The double-double was the first of the season for Toderick Davis and his 10 rebounds were a career-best … Martin Methodist dropped to 6-4 all-time in the first round and 9-10 overall … The RedHawks entered the tournament ranked No. 5 in the NAIA in field goal percentage defense (.302) and held Life to a 15.8 percent clip.