Missouri Western was eliminated from the MIAA tournament. (photo/Mitch Stroup)

Missouri Western was eliminated from the MIAA tournament. (photo/Mitch Stroup)

Three of the four top seeds advance as the first round of men’s basketball set the field for Kansas City.

#6 Nebraska-Kearney 86, #11 LIndenwood 80

Sixth seed Nebraska-Kearney hits 28 free throws as they held serve at home against #11 seed Lindenwood. UNK outrebounded LWU as they advance to the quarterfinal round in Kansas City, Mo.

For the Lopers Mike Dentlinger was a perfect 11 for 11 from the line as he finished with a game high 35 points. Connor Beranek had 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds as Davion Pearson added 11 points and six boards. For the Lions Darris Smith led the way scoring 21 points and dishing out five assists. Garrett Reeg added 16 points and Zachary Biggs finished with 12 points.

Nebraska-Kearney advances to face third seed Missouri Southern at 8:15 p.m. on March 7 from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

#5 Central Oklahoma 74, #12 Missouri Western 57

Fifth seed Central Oklahoma held #12 Missouri Western to just 24 second half points as they earned the victory at home. UCO held MWSU to .267 shooting from the field as they advance to the quarterfinal round in Kansas City.

For the Bronchos Josh Gibbs led the way with a double-double scoring 32 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. Phillip Brown also had a double scoring 14 points and adding 12 boards and Aaron Anderson added 11 points. For the Griffons Kalvin Balque had 13 points and six rebounds and Ryan Devers had 13 points and three assists. Charlie Marquardt had 11 points and seven boards as Cortrez Colbert also added seven rebounds.

Central Oklahoma advances to face fourth seed Fort Hays State at 2:15 p.m. on March 7 from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

#7 Emporia State 96, #10 Southwest Baptist 85

Seventh seed Emporia State shot .623 from the field as they earned a victory over #10 seed Southwest Baptist. ESU had 27 points off of turnover as they racked up 52 second half points to earn a trip to the quarterfinal round in Kansas City.

For the Hornets Terrence Brown was just five points off the tournament record dropping 40 points on the night. Kaleb Wright had a double-double with 29 points and 12 assists also adding eight rebounds. Wright’s and Moore’s combined 69 points sets a new MIAA Tournament record for combined points by teammates. For the Bearcats Rashaad Brown-Peterson had 23 points, six rebounds and three assists. Jaywuan Hill also had 23 points and six boards and Menas Stephens had 13 points.

Emporia State will face second seed Northwest Missouri at 6:00 p.m. on March 7 from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

#9 Northeastern State 79, #8 Washburn 75

Ninth seed Northeastern State earned an upset victory on the road at eighth seed Washburn. NSU shot .522 from the field as they advance to the quarterfinal round in Kansas City, Mo.

For the RiverHawks Landon DeMasters led the way scoring 21 points while Bryton Hobbs had 15 points and seven assists. Marcus Sheppard had 13 points Dalen Qualls had 12 points and Curtis Evans added 10 points. For the Ichabods Alex North had a double-double with 20 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Kyle Wiggins scored 24 points and Korey Fisher added 11 points and five assists.

Northeastern State will face top seed Central Missouri at 12:00 p.m. on March 7 from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.