The College of the Ozarks men and women are playing in the NAIA Division II semifinals.  The men are hosting the tournament at Point Lookout, and the women are in Sioux Falls, Iowa.

Unseeded College of the Ozarks (Mo.) used a 9-1 run late to pull away from #6 Indiana Wesleyan 79-70 in the quarterfinals of the NAIA D-II Men’s Basketball Championship. The Bobcats advance to their third Final Four and second in four years. The 18th annual event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

Ozarks controlled most of the first half behind 17 points by senior guard Corey Stone. The Bobcats scored five straight points to take their largest lead (35-28) before Indiana Wesleyan rallied to cut the deficit to three by halftime, 38-35.

In the second half, Indiana Wesleyan took its first lead since early in the game on a three-pointer by Antonio Murrell, 47-45. The lead switched hands five times over the next eight minutes as the game remained very close. With the game tied at 60, Ozarks guard Colt Blair scored five straight points to put the Bobcats up five. Leading by two (65-63), Ozarks outscored Indiana Wesleyan 9-1, highlighted by a three-pointer by Drew Ray, which gave the Bobcats a 74-64 lead. They went on to win 79-70.

Ozarks was led by Corey Stone who scored 25 points on 9-of-14 from the field. The senior guard has 75 points in three tournament games. Drew Ray chipped in 16, 10 in the second half. The Bobcats shot 57% from the field and 53% from the three-point line (8-of-15).

College of the Ozarks (Mo.) used a fast paced offensive attack to move past Dickinson State (N.D.) 69-56 in the quarterfinals of the 2009 NAIA Div. II National Championship Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.

Dickinson State led 30-20 with two minutes remaining in the first half but Ozarks ended the half with an 8-0 run to end the half down 30-28. The run for the Bobcats continued the run into the second half jumping out to a 42-34 lead. Ozarks scorers hit shots down the stretch including a timely three pointer by Kayli Combs to keep the Blue Hawks at bay.

Lindsy Murray led the Bobcats in scoring with 23 points while Combs finished the game with 22 points while Melissa Duval chipped in with 11 points off the bench for Ozarks. Kelsey Boedeker led Dickinson State with 17 points while Kia Herbel added a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.