By Matt Bos, NAIA Media Coordinator

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – (Box Score) –Austin Fox scored 23 points as No.11 Saint Francis (Ind.) squeaked past No. 6 Morningside (Iowa) 72-70 in the second round at the 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship.

A three-pointer by Steve O’Neill put Morningside down by just one, 71-70, with five seconds left. Following the inbounds pass, the Mustangs fouled and put USF guard Seth Small at the line where the junior made the second of two free throws to put his team back up by two, 72-70. Morningside failed to get a shot off during the final three seconds as the Cougars held on for the two-point win.

USF, now 27-7 on the year, shot 49% for the game, led by Fox with 23 points. Josh Hogan scored 13 and Kegan Comer put in 11. The Cougars overcame being outrebounded  37-23 by forcing Morningside into 20 turnovers.

Morningside scored the first six points of the game for its largest lead but USF stormed back with a 29-11 run over a 10-minute stretch to grab its largest lead, 29-17, with six minutes remaining in the first half. The Mustangs closed on a bit of a run and after consecutive baskets by Kyle Nikkel, were down 33-26 at the break.

The teams traded baskets for most of the second half as neither team was able to go on any substantial run and USF holding a 4-8 point cushion. Morningside, on three occasions, made it a one-point game but could never take the lead over the final 20 minutes.

Nikkel led Morningside with 23 points, 14 coming in the first half. The senior made 8-of-11 field goal attempts and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. O’Neill scored 13 and Andrew Christen registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Mustangs shot 44% from the field but struggled from the three-point line, making 5-of-20 from the arc. They finish the season with a 28-5 record.

USF will play No. 2 Cornerstone (Mich.) in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 14 at 1pm.