Point Lookout, Mo.- Box Score | Bracket    In the 16th and final first round game of the 2016 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, No. 8 York (Neb.) pulled a monumental upset by outing one of the top seeds, St. Francis (Ill.), 87-79.

St. Francis’ early exit comes on the heals of similarly surprising first round exits by number two seeds Union College (on Wednesday) and Tabor College (earlier in the day).

York rallied from 10 points down in each half to become the first team to ever defeat a number one seed in the first round of the event (this is the initial year of having a number one seed in each of four brackets).

The first half ended in a 42-42 deadlock, though the St. Francis enjoyed a 30-20 advantage with 7:24 remaining after Jens Kennedy went on a personal 9-2 run.

The drama of the evening, however, was reserved for the second twenty minutes. Behind the strong interior play of Kennedy (26 points), St. Francis forged their second, 10-point advantage of the contest, 59-49, but the Panthers were not to be denied.

With sparkplug guard Johnny Cooksey controlling the tempo at both ends and Mike Johnson and Chris Smith contributing timely scoring, York surged into a 70-all tie and took the lead for good on consecutive baskets by Smith. A Cooksey three-pointer with 2:01 remaining give the Panthers a 79-70 lead and St. Francis could get no closer than six the remainder of the way.

Cameron Coleman led York with 22 points (16 in a dominant first half) and eight rebounds. Cooksey poured in 21 and Johnson tallied 11.

Ilya Ilyayev , who came in averaging over 21 points per game, scored 11 and backed Kennedy as the only other Fighting Saints player in double figures. Kennedy also grabbed a game high 10 rebounds for the double-double. St. Francis’ fantastic season comes to an end with a 28-4 overall record.

York, now 24-9, advances to meet No. 5 Dakota Wesleyan, a 93-89 overtime victor over Indiana Tech, tomorrow at 9:15pm.