The Northwest University men battled the #13 seed and defending national champion, Saint Francis of Ft. Wayne, Ind., but fell short today, 87-79, in the first round of the NAIA Division II Men's National Championships.
Game three was an entertaining one for the crowd as it featured a close contest throughout the 40 minutes of play. Both teams exchanged the lead and the margin remained single digits for the entire game. Northwest trailed 74-73 with 3:09 remaining in regulation but would come no closer in the final minutes.
In the end, it was too much Qadr Owens and Ethan Hussey as the two combined for 44 points. The Eagles held 6-6 All-American DeJovan Sawyer-Davis scoreless in the first half as he finished with 15 second half points. Saint Francis shot 47% for the game and hit 28% of their treys (5-18).
Greg George, playing in his final game as an Eagle, led NU with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Senior Greg Peters registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in his final game. Junior Jordan Call contributed 16, making 5 of 8 shots. NU also shot an impressive 47%, but managed onlt 22% from the 3-point line (4-18).
"I'm extremely proud of this group, especially the seniors," commented Coach John Van Dyke, "they've contributed a great deal to the success of this program and a big reason why we were here. We'll really miss them. As we look back, we'll realize what a fantastic season we had playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country."
The Eagles will remain in Branson the remainder of the week before heading home to Kirkland on Sunday, March 13.
No comments:
Post a Comment